Sinister Scourge
by Ryououki
Summary: After finding a seemingly wonderful secret in the library, the girls accidentally stumble upon a sinister malevolence that not only has a will of it's own, but a bloodthirsty vengeance as well.
1. Secrets

As the sun kissed the edge of the horizon, the school building was mostly vacant since most of the students had gone home already. In one room, however, six girls could be found doing little more than goofing off…

"What kind of book did you say you were looking for?" Tomo loudly asked as she stared at a shelf full of difficult-looking books.

"I told you before, I'm just looking around," Yomi scolded in an irritated tone. "I didn't ask for any of you to come," she added as she looked about at all of her friends that had tagged along.

"I wanted to look for something, too," Chiyo asserted from her perch atop a ladder as she tried her best to stretch up and reach the top shelf.

Sakaki made an affirmatory sound from her spot crouched down near the floor as she looked at the bottom shelf to announce that she shared the same sentiment.

"I was curious," Kagura announced from behind a bookshelf. "In all this time I've never actually been in here."

Tomo laughed aloud as she taunted, "You really sounded like an idiot just now!"

"What was that, true idiot?" Kagura challenged as she walked around the bookcase to glare at Tomo, only to find the wildcat was nowhere to be seen.

"Gah!" Tomo shouted from right behind Kagura, causing her to visibly jump.

"Why, you-!" Kagura threatened as Tomo pointed and laughed at her.

"You really are one hell of a fool!" she continued to taunt the irate tomboy.

Her rage boiling over, Kagura violently shoved the laughing idiot, sending her reeling backwards and right into Osaka, causing the duo to crash into a bookshelf. "Osaka!" Kagura shouted as books rained down on the two girls. "I'm sorry!" Kagura apologized as she raced to dig them out, although she only felt guilty about Osaka getting involved.

"Is everything all right?" Yomi asked as she rounded the corner with everyone else. "What happened?" she shouted as she helped a dazed Tomo escape the pile of books.

"It was an earthquake!" Osaka mistakenly claimed as Kagura pulled her free as well.

"Are you two all right?" Chiyo worried since both Tomo and Osaka seemed to be struggling to stay on their feet.

"What the hell was that for?" Tomo shouted at Kagura as soon as she had recovered.

Kagura growled as she released Osaka to stand on her own. "It was punishment for your being such an idiot!" she retorted.

"You're the idiot!" Tomo dumbly countered.

"You're both acting like eleven-year-olds," Yomi scolded before turning to Chiyo. "No offense."

Although Tomo was completely unaffected by Yomi's reprimand, Kagura took the words to heart. "Sorry," she apologized as she bent down and started picking up books. "I'll clean it up."

Yomi couldn't help but to appreciate that Kagura at least had the capacity to learn, unlike the idiot standing next to her. "It'll go faster if we all work together," the brunette asserted as she also began to sift through the fallen books. All the others quickly joined in, minus one. "This is just as much your fault, you know," Yomi spat as she glared at the idle wildcat.

"What's that?" Chiyo interrupted as she pointed to the underside of the lowest shelf on the bookcase.

"What's what?" Osaka dumbly asked as all eyes fell on the tiny genius.

Everyone struggled to get down as low as the redhead to see what she was pointing at. "A latch?" Osaka observed only after laying flat on her belly so that she was low enough to the metallic object hidden under the lowest shelf.

"It's probably to anchor the bookshelf to the wall in case of an earthquake," Yomi rationalized.

"Let's find out!" Tomo announced as she reached down and gave the object a good tug. "I'll bet it's a switch to open up a secret passage. Like in a movie!" As she kept trying, the stubborn switch didn't budge at all, eliciting the wildcat to frantically pull at it. For all of her obnoxious efforts, all Tomo managed to do was cause the few books that had been replaced to fall back into the floor. "It's stuck," Tomo dumbly informed the group as she gave up, fully unaware of the glares that she was receiving.

"This isn't a movie, and we're not in a haunted mansion," Yomi scoffed. "Like I said, it's probably there to keep it anchored, and it's probably locked to keep idiots like you from disengaging it."

"I'm not so sure about that," Chiyo challenged as she pointed above the bookshelves. "All the shelves are already anchored to the walls with brackets. Not to mention this is the only one with a latch like that."

Sakaki stood on her toes to spy the supports. "She's right," the tall girl observed. "They all have brackets except this one," she continued as she pointed to the bookshelf with the latch.

The other girls tried to stand tall and see, but none were tall enough. "How on earth did you see them, Chiyo?" Kagura inquired as she gave up.

"I've noticed them from before when I had to use a ladder to reach the top shelf," the diminutive genius explained.

"It's amazin' that y'all can remember somethin' like that," Osaka praised.

"I'll try it," Kagura announced as she let her curiosity get the better of her. Grabbing the lever she pushed with her free hand and pulled the lever with all her might. Sure enough, the rusted latch couldn't match up to Kagura's strength and suddenly gave way, causing the tomboy to let out a hiss. "Damn it!" she cursed as she held her hand. "Damned thing cut me," she whined as she put her wounded finger in her mouth.

Tomo couldn't care less about Kagura's distress. "Is it a secret passage?" she asked as she tried pushing and pulling the bookcase.

Yomi sighed as Tomo resorted to trying to slide it to either side despite the fact that it had a bookcase on either side preventing it from sliding to either side. "If you're done with this nonsense, we really should get this stuff cleaned up," the bespectacled brunette announced in an irritated tone as she and most everyone else started to gather up the books again.

"Maybe it's just stuck, like the latch," Kagura guessed as she took over where Tomo left off. Once more putting everything she had into it, the tomboy violently pushed and pulled on the shelf. After a few tries, the shelf let out a loud crack as it swung open and crashed into the wall, causing Kagura to fall forward into a dark corridor.

"It is a secret passage!" Tomo announced as she rushed in after the tomboy. "I told you so!" her voice taunted in the darkness.

"E-even a broken clock is right twice a day," Yomi claimed as she followed after with Osaka tagging along behind her. As soon as she stepped into the darkness, Yomi automatically felt the wall and found the light switch. Once illuminated, it was clear that it truly was a secret passage. The narrow hallway led straight to a descending staircase, and the bookcase was really just an elaborately decorated door.

"It looks like it can be opened and closed from this side, too," Chiyo observed as she entered alongside Sakaki now that the lights were on. The small genius motioned to the bottom of the camouflaged door to show that the latch could be operated from the inside as well.

Curious as to how well it would work, Yomi took hold of a crude handle attached to the back of the bookcase and closed it before working the rusty latch. "I'll be damned," the bespectacled girl mumbled aloud as she tugged on the handle to prove that it worked. "I wonder how long this has been here."

"Hey, look," Kagura urged as she pointed to a small slit in the wall. "You can see what's going on in the library through these."

"Creepy," Osaka mumbled as she looked through another one.

"We gotta go see what's down there!" Tomo excitedly announced as she pointed down the stairs and into the darkness.

"A mysterious passage leadin' ta who-knows-what in an empty buildin' where no one could hear ya scream," Osaka observed, garnering a rise out of most of the girls. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"W-we should go back," Chiyo nervously suggested as she turned back to the door with Sakaki on her heels. "We still have to clean up that mess, remember?"

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Tomo challenged with a smile as she started down the staircase without hesitation.

While most of the girls followed after Tomo, Chiyo and Sakaki left the secret passage and opted to just go ahead and pick up the books. "I'm just no good with the dark and scary things like that," Chiyo explained to Sakaki as she closed and secured the bookshelf. "Thanks for staying with me," she appreciated as the two got to work cleaning up the mess. "It would still be a little scary if I was here alone."

Sakaki just nodded in response, hiding the fact that she was just as easily frightened as the little girl.

While Chiyo and Sakaki performed their mundane task, the other four managed to follow the stairs down one floor only to be stopped by a door secured with an old, rusted padlock. "Guess it's no use after all," Yomi lamented as Kagura idly tugged at the rusty lock.

"Just force it open!" Tomo encouraged. "Like you did with the bookcase."

Looking at the others to find that no one had any objections to the suggestion, Kagura looked back to the door and the intimidating lock. "Why is it always me?" she lamented as she wrapped her hands around the lock and pulled with all her might.

"It's because all you have is muscle and big boobs," Tomo teased.

"At least I have something!" Kagura retorted as she gave up on breaking the lock. "You're completely worthless!"

"Can you get it open or not?" Yomi irately demanded in hopes of averting another argument between the two girls.

Kagura shoved Tomo out of her way before responding, "Even if it is rusted, there's no way I can break this off. It's useless… like Tomo."

"You're the one that can't do it!" Tomo retorted as she shoved Kagura back. "That makes you the useless one!"

"You can't do it, either!" Kagura barked back.

And just like that, the two girls were grappling with each other. This time they ended up crashing into the door. The force of the impact was enough to break the rusted hinges and cause the door to come free although the padlock still bound the door to the other side. "It's about time Tomo's antics paid off," Yomi commented as the fight completely evaporated now that the two were past the door.

"See?" Tomo gloated as she got up and dusted herself off. "I'm not useless at all."

"Like your weak ass could have opened it without my help," Kagura scoffed.

"Found it!" Osaka interrupted yet another fight as light flooded the room.

The light revealed a relatively large room with no windows and only one other door. It was furnished with an old couch to the right of the entrance with a large, square, and low table in front of it. The table was surrounded with two floor cushions on each side except for the side with the couch. Across from the couch on the opposite wall was an old projection screen television on a stand with a VCR. On either side of the TV there were small shelves loaded with old VHS tapes. Both of the walls perpendicular to the ones with the couch were cluttered with several bookshelves, each boasting a wide variety of books. The wall furthest from the entrance had a loveseat and coffee table in between the bookshelves. The room surely would have been warm and inviting if not for the layer of dust covering everything. Perhaps even more distressing was the door across the room from the loveseat, which was completely boarded up and covered in spirit wards.

"It's kinda creepy," Osaka stated the obvious as the girls fanned out to check the room out.

"I wonder what this place was for," Yomi spoke her thoughts as she scanned over the nearest bookshelf.

"All this stuff is really old," Tomo observed as she checked out the TV. On a whim, the wildcat pressed the power button and was surprised to see the TV spark to life. "It still works!" Tomo shouted as she wiped the dust from the screen. Hitting the channel button, however, yielded no results. "No channels," she lamented.

"Try this," Kagura offered as she grabbed a random tape and handed the dusty object to Tomo. Popping the tape into the VCR, the two were excited to see it start to play. "This is so cool!" Kagura admitted.

"All tha books here are old, too," Osaka noted as she checked out the bookshelves on the far wall.

Yomi, meanwhile, had wondered over to the table where she drew a hand across the center of the quality cherry to reveal a red emblem of two interlocking letter 'S's. Further inspection of the area revealed a leather-bound tome on the couch with the same symbol on the front. Picking the book up, Yomi reluctantly sat down on the dusty couch and opened the intriguing book. As Yomi started reading the book, the other girls had made themselves at home as well. Kagura and Tomo sat on the floor cushions on the far side of the table as they waited for the movie to start, and Osaka had pulled a light novel from a bookshelf and had begun to read it as she sat down on the loveseat.

"Everyone is still down there, aren't they?" Chiyo fretted. She and Sakaki had already replaced all of the books and even put them back into their proper order several minutes ago. "D-do you think something happened to them?"

Although going into that scary place was the last thing she wanted to do, Sakaki couldn't just abandon her precious friends, either. "Maybe… we should check," she reluctantly suggested as she bent down and groped around for the hidden latch. Once more unlocking the camouflaged door, Sakaki carefully swung the bookcase open as not to dislodge any of the books. This time, the corridor seemed far less intimidating as the sounds of their friends laughter echoed up from the now lit room at the bottom of the staircase.

"Ah, there you two are," Yomi greeted as the duo entered the room.

"We were worried about you all," Chiyo admitted as she took in the room. "What is this place?"

"It's a secret club room where a secret club used to come," Yomi explained as she kept her nose buried in the leather-bound book.

"You really think that's what this place is?" Tomo inquired as she pried her eyes off of the movie and looked to Yomi.

The brunette nodded. "It's all in this book," she asserted as she held the book up. "It was called the 'Scarlet Society'," she elaborated.

"That's just a story," Tomo easily dismissed.

"No," Yomi countered as she pointed to the matching emblem etched into the table. "This is a club handbook," she explained. "Complete with a club overview, club rules, and even a detailed list of every member that was ever in the club."

"Really?" Tomo asked as she, and everyone else, had become quite interested in the book.

Yomi nodded again. "Apparently, the only faculty member to even know this place existed was the original principal, and, according to this book, he took the secret with him when he left. So the only people to know about this place were the club members themselves." Turning a couple of faded pages, Yomi continued. "Apparently, four seniors and two juniors were all the club's members each year, and when the seniors graduated, the juniors-turned-seniors would recruit two new seniors and two juniors."

"So why's this place abandoned and all?" Osaka asked.

"I haven't gotten that far," Yomi admitted as she flipped through the pages that listed the club members. "Looks like the last club was nine years ago," she observed as she read the year of the last group of names. "No way!" Yomi exclaimed as she suddenly stood up.

"What is it?" Kagura excitedly asked as the whole group gathered around Yomi.

Yomi sat the book down and pointed to the page. "Look at the names of the last club president and vice-president." In turn all of the other girls also exclaimed their disbelief. Sure enough, the name written as the last club president was Kurosawa Minamo and the vice-president was none other than Tanizaki Yukari. "There aren't any names listed for the juniors here, either." Yomi added.

"What's it mean?" Osaka asked as Yomi picked the book back up.

"It means that Sensei and Yukari know what happened to the club," Kagura surmised. "We should go talk to them about it."

"No way!" Tomo instantly refused.

All eyes fell on the wildcat due to the bizarre refusal. "Why not?" Kagura asked with a bit of ire in her voice.

"So long as no one knows that we know this is here, we can use this place however we want," Tomo explained as she motioned to the extravagant club room. "If we talk to Nyamo and Yukari about it, they might give this club room to someone else! The only way we can keep it for ourselves is if we keep it a secret!"

"And that's twice," Yomi quipped. "I agree with her. Let's become the new members of the Scarlet Society and keep this place a secret."

"It sounds like fun," Osaka agreed.

Sakaki and Chiyo both nodded as well. "This is kind of exciting," Chiyo admitted.

"I still kind of want to know what happened, but okay," Kagura reluctantly conceded.

Flipping a page in the book, Yomi looked around for something to write with. "Anyone have a pen?"

"We'll have to go back to the library for one," Chiyo realized as everyone failed to produce one.

"It's late anyway," Yomi observed as she closed the book and tucked it under her arm. "Let's turn everything off and go home. We can pick this up after school tomorrow."

As the group ascended the stairs, Yomi caught sight of the bookcase sitting wide open. "Who left it open?" she hissed as she rushed into the library to make sure that the secret hadn't been let out of the bag. Luckily, the library was as abandoned as when they left. "If we want to keep this a secret, you guys can't be so careless," she lectured as the group entered the library from the secret passage.

"Did anyone see?" Osaka inquired.

Yomi shook her head. "It looks like everyone has gone home already."

"This is so cool," Tomo marveled as she closed the secret door.

"Come on," Yomi urged as she sat down at a table in the library and grabbed a pen. "We'll all need to sign our names and grade in this book," she informed everyone as she set the tome down on the table and flipped it to the first blank page. As she waited for everyone to gather around, Yomi followed the established format and put the school year at the top of the page.

"Where do I sign?" Tomo demanded as she rushed to the brunette's side.

Yomi hesitated as she made sure to keep the pen out of Tomo's reach. "I think we need to decide on who will be the president and vice president, first," she realized as she pointed to the page with Yukari and Nyamo's names on it. "The president and vice president sign first."

"I should be the president!" Tomo predictably announced. "I'm the one that found it!"

"Chiyo noticed the latch," Yomi corrected the wildcat's false statement, "and it's Kagura that actually got everything open."

"I can't be president," Kagura claimed as several stares fell on her. "I'm part of the swim team, after all."

Kagura's logic was sound. After all, she would end up being at the pool just about every day in the summer. "I guess that just leaves Chiyo," Yomi observed as all eyes fell on the smart girl. "She is our class president, after all."

Chiyo shook her head as she waved her hands in a dismissive manner. "I-I don't really want to…"

"You're the one with the book," Kagura jumped to the pathetic little genius's aid. "You already know more about this club than all of us put together."

Yomi hesitated a moment before she resigned with a sigh. "All right, I guess that makes me president… any objections?"

"Actually, I think-UMPH!" Tomo started, only to be cut off by Yomi elbowing her in the gut.

"It's settled, then," Yomi announced as she put pen to paper and signed her name, year, and the word 'president' into the book. As soon as she finished recording her information into the book, Yomi asked the obvious question, expecting the obvious answer. "So… the vice president…" she reluctantly spoke as she cast an expectant glance at Tomo.

"Me!" Tomo boisterously volunteered as she raised her hand, just as everyone feared.

"No one else?" Yomi asked as she looked around to find everyone minus the grinning wildcat avoiding her gaze. "Fine," Yomi reluctantly conceded as she slid the book towards Tomo. "Do it properly," she warned as she handed Tomo the pen. Tomo actually did do it right, if for no other reason than to cement her role as the vice president.

When Tomo finished, Yomi grabbed the book and pen from Tomo. "Just come and sign your name and year," Yomi announced as she stood up and laid the pen down next to the book. One by one, the girls all came and signed their names to the book, including Kagura.

"So what now?" Osaka asked as she finished writing her name in the book.

"I guess we come back here tomorrow and start cleaning up the room," Yomi suggested. "After we get it restored, we can probably just do whatever we like in there."

"Hey!" Tomo interrupted as she angrily pointed at Osaka. "You didn't do it right!"

"Ah didn't?" she asked as she looked again at the book. For all Tomo's shouting, Osaka couldn't find anything out of place.

"You didn't write 'Osaka'!" she challenged. "You were supposed to write 'Osaka'!"

"But that ain't mah real name," Osaka defended herself.

Far be it for Tomo to be deterred by logic, especially when it comes to something like harassing someone. "Everyone calls you Osaka. You even write 'Osaka' on your tests!"

"That's only because Yukari gets confused when ah write mah name on a test," Osaka argued.

Although it was amusing to watch, Yomi's conscience wouldn't let her allow the wildcat to keep teasing Osaka like that. "What's done is done," Yomi announced as she picked up the book and snapped it closed.

"It's written in ink, so it's too late to do anything about it now."

"S-so are we going to meet back here tomorrow?" Chiyo asked, also trying to divert Tomo's attention away from harassing Osaka.

Yomi nodded. "We'll have to figure out how to get in without being spotted," she asserted. "There will be several students here just after school, after all. And we've got to get cleaning supplies in there, too."

"The entrance is back in the last row, though," Chiyo pointed out. "Only someone in that last aisle would be able to see us."

"We still can't take any chances," Yomi reasoned. "We'll have to be careful whenever we go in or come out."

"Won't someone notice if we all go back there an' don't come back out again?" Osaka asked.

"It doesn't matter," Yomi easily dismissed. "So long as no one sees us go in or out, they won't be able to do anything other than wonder about it."

Kagura sighed as she scratched the back of her head. "You guys seem to be taking this awfully seriously," she noted.

"Don't you think it's cool?" Tomo scolded.

"Well, yeah," Kagura agreed. "It just seems kind of… I dunno… selfish?"

"We found it!" Tomo hotly retorted. "It's ours!"

"I won't say anything," Kagura assured, "but I still think we should talk to Sensei about it. There has to be a good reason that it got abandoned. What if it's dangerous or something?"

"I don't think that's the case," Yomi argued. "If it was structurally unsound or infested or something, then the whole school would have to shut down and inspected."

Kagura growled as she grabbed her bag. "It still feels like we're doing something wrong," she grunted before leaving.

"What was that all about?" Tomo wondered as she watched Kagura storm out of the library.

"Kagura said she'd keep it a secret," Yomi rationalized as she tucked the club's book into her own bag, "so I wouldn't worry about it."

"If she blabs, I'll never forgive her," Tomo stated the obvious as she grabbed her own bag.

"I'm really excited about all of this," Chiyo admitted as she, too, grabbed her bag and followed the others as they all started to leave. "I've never been in a school club before."

"Ah haven't been in one before, either," Osaka revealed as she turned out the library lights before exiting into the hallway.

As the group left the building, the sun finally slipped below the horizon, summoning the night. Just as the shroud of darkness swept over the school, an uneasy air filled the hidden club room. Had someone been there to observe it, a loud, erratic pounding began to echo out from behind the sealed door.


	2. Discovery

A/N: This update was rather expedient. The next one probably won't be up anytime soon, though.

* * *

><p>After the final bell sounded the end of the school day, the girls gathered together with the same destination in mind. "We're going <em>there<em> right?" Tomo excitedly asked as Yomi gathered her books into her bag.

"Yeah, yeah," Yomi assured as she looked around to see a lot of the rest of the gang looking in her direction. "Let's meet up at the table," she announced loud enough for all of the girls to hear. Just after making the announcement, Yomi couldn't help but make her way to the library. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she was possibly just as excited about this as Tomo if that was even possible. As they got to the library, they found it to be fairly sparsely populated. Only two students from the library club were there along with a couple more students, who seemed to be browsing. "This might not be so hard after all," Yomi noted as she sat at the table where they signed the book.

"Why are we waiting here?" Tomo scoffed as she leaned on the table instead of sitting properly. "Let's go wait for them _in there_," she asserted.

"You really want Osaka trying to get into the club by herself?" Yomi asked rhetorically as she kept her eyes locked on the entrance.

Tomo nodded. "Good point," she admitted as she also looked to the entrance. "Hey, there's a lot of people coming in."

"It's going to be rough, after all," Yomi agreed as she watched two students enter for each student that left.

"Sakaki!" Tomo shouted and waved as she spied the tall girl in the entryway.

Her usual vigor earned her a smack in the back of the head. "This is a library," Yomi hissed, "and on top of that, we need to keep a low profile!"

"Hey," Sakaki greeted as she approached the table with Chiyo in tow.

"Have Osaka and Kagura shown up yet?" Chiyo politely asked as she took a seat.

Yomi shook her head. "No sign of Osaka, and I wouldn't hold my breath on Kagura's coming here. I saw her bolt as soon as class let out, not to mention that fuss she made yesterday."

"She'd better not be telling Yukari or Nyamo about this," Tomo huffed.

"There she is," Sakaki noted as she turned to the entrance.

"Kagura?" Tomo asked as she looked to the doors only to find Osaka. "Oh, you meant her," Tomo observed in a deadpan tone.

Osaka waved as she approached. "Hey guys," she greeted as she made sure to stand next to Tomo.

"What the hell?" Tomo scolded with a big smile as she smacked Osaka in the back of the head. "We're all girls here!"

"Ehehe," Osaka giggled despite Tomo's overly enthusiastic reprimand. "That's right."

"If you two are through making lame jokes, we need to come up with a plan to get in _there_ without getting caught," Yomi interrupted the girls' fun. "It looks like there are a lot of people in here now, so it won't be easy. Not to mention that we need to get cleaning supplies in there, and that is going to look suspicious no matter what we do."

"We jus' need a good distraction," Osaka suggested.

As soon as the words left Osaka's mouth, all eyes fell on Tomo. "I can think of a pretty good candidate," Yomi dryly remarked.

Tomo easily caught the hint. "I'm on it!" she boisterously announced as she tried to dash off only to be held back by Yomi.

"Wait for us to get the cleaning stuff," the brunette scolded. "And make sure you make your commotion as far away from the entrance as you can."

The wildcat offered Yomi a salute. "Understood!" she proclaimed.

Yomi then motioned to Sakaki. "All right, Sakaki and I will get the stuff," she suggested before pointing to Osaka and Chiyo. "You two just wait for us near the entrance. I'll call Tomo when Sakaki and I are ready. Understood?"

Everyone nodded except for Tomo, who maintained her salute. The wildcat couldn't help but smile as Yomi left with Sakaki. "This'll be fun!" she admitted as she could barely contain her excitement. Sure enough, in just a couple of minutes, the wildcat's phone rang. Not even bothering to answer it, Tomo shouted a battle cry as she took off.

As Chiyo and Osaka stood by the camouflaged door, several loud bangs and screams announced that Tomo had started her distraction. "She's really into it," Chiyo observed. "I wonder if this is really okay."

"It makes ya wonder how much she usually holds back," Osaka replied.

Chiyo shuddered at the suggestion. "That's… a really scary thought."

"Time to go," Yomi alerted the duo as she and Sakaki showed up. "Are we clear?"

"Clear?" Osaka repeated, not quite understanding the question.

"No one is looking," Chiyo added, prompting Yomi to open the door.

All four girls quickly piled in, and just as Yomi was about to close the door, Tomo dashed in and, unable to stop, bounced off of the far wall. "That was… great," Tomo reveled in a daze as Yomi managed to seal the door.

"Did anyone see you come in?" Yomi scolded the exhausted girl.

"Ah don't see anyone," Osaka replied as she looked through one of the many slits in the wall of the hidden passage.

Osaka's words and actions hit Yomi like a brick. "So that's what those are for!" Yomi realized as she quickly approached the nearest one. "You can easily see if anyone is about to enter this aisle," she observed.

"Who cares?" Tomo spat as she started for the stairs. "Let's hurry up and go!"

"Not so loud!" Yomi hissed as everyone tailed after the wildcat.

Tomo stopped in her tracks halfway down the stairs, forcing everyone behind her to bunch up. "I thought I turned that light out?" she mumbled to herself as she found the light in the room at the bottom of the steps to be switched on. Her wonder quickly changed to anger as a possibility hit her. "If Kagura told Yukari and Nyamo, I'll never forgive her!" the wildcat growled as she took off and rushed into the room.

The rest quickly followed suit, and upon entering, they all had the same question on their lips: "Kagura?"

"It's about time you guys showed up!" Kagura scolded as she dumped the rag she'd been using to wipe off the couch into a bucket of clouded water.

"Wha-How did you get in here?" Yomi demanded. "We had to go through a lot to get in without being noticed."

"Our room is right down the hall from the library," Kagura pointed out the obvious. "I just ran here as soon as class let out. There wasn't anyone here at all."

Yomi chuckled at her own ineptitude. "That easy, huh? You even managed to get some cleaning supplies in here."

"Um… why are you here?" Chiyo asked as Yomi and Sakaki divvied up the supplies they had acquired.

Kagura looked up from her task with confusion evident on her face. "Huh?"

"Didn't you say that you were against all of this?" Chiyo recalled.

"I said that I had a bad feeling and that I think we should talk to Sensei about it," Kagura corrected. "I still feel that way."

"But you're here anyway!" Tomo exuberantly pointed out in an effort to annoy the tomboy.

Kagura growled at the obvious taunt. "Of course I am. Even if I have a bad feeling, this place is still kind of cool. Not to mention I already signed my name."

"So that's all it takes to buy your loyalty?" Tomo scoffed in a mocking tone.

"It's like you want me to hit you," Kagura threatened as she sent Tomo a fierce glare.

"That's how it seems," Yomi jumped in, eager to give Tomo a taste of her own medicine. "Even though she always seems sadistic, in reality it's more like Tomo's a masochist trying her damndest to get punished, right?"

"Ah! You're right!" Both Kagura and Osaka chimed in, getting more than a little rise out of the wildcat.

"It's not like that!" Tomo boisterously defended herself.

The whole time, Chiyo and Sakaki had been standing by waiting for everyone to settle down so they could start cleaning. Chiyo had been able to follow the conversation to a certain point, but there were a few words even the genius girl didn't have in her vocabulary. "What's a masochist?" Chiyo innocently asked Sakaki, who blushed at hearing the question.

"It's, ah…" the tall girl fumbled as she was put on the spot. "The opposite of a sadist… I guess," she lamely dodged.

Chiyo blinked a couple of times as she tried her best to make sense of the explanation. "A sadist is a mean person, right? So everyone's saying that Tomo is really a nice person?"

"S-something like that," Sakaki lied again. As soon as the redhead seemed to be satisfied with the explanation, Sakaki made sure to quickly move and start cleaning as far away from Chiyo in hopes of also getting herself away from the embarrassing conversation she just had.

Spying Sakaki vigorously throw herself into cleaning, Yomi couldn't help but feel a bit childish as she stood and argued with the three idiots. "Sakaki's got the right idea," she announced as she turned on her heel and grabbed a rag and bucket. "We've got a lot of work to do still."

"I guess so," Kagura conceded as she, too, abandoned her argument with Tomo and got back to her task of wiping down the couch.

"Ha! See, I was right all along!" Tomo boasted, even though she couldn't remember half of what the squabble was about.

Once the group all got to working together, it didn't take but a few hours to get the club room looking clean. "That was an ordeal," Yomi huffed as she flopped down onto the couch, somewhat proud of how well the room looked when it was clean.

"I don't ever want to do that again," Tomo agreed as she sat down next to the brunette.

"We'll probably need to do something like this before and after each long break from school," Yomi pointed out, eliciting a collective moan from everyone in the room.

"What a pain," Kagura complained as she flipped the TV on before grabbing a tape and shoving it into the VCR.

"At least refreshing our supplies and exchanging the water in the buckets gave us a good chance to practice sneaking in and out of here without drawing too much attention," Yomi appreciated as she did her best to look on the bright side.

Tomo growled and jumped up as she pointed to the door sealed up with boards and spirit wards. "We wouldn't have to have had to go through all that trouble if you just would have let me tear that stuff down so we can get in there! It's gotta be a bathroom!" she exuberantly yelled.

"I was yelling at you earlier because you were too busy uselessly trying to rip those boards off to do any cleaning like you were supposed to be doing," Yomi corrected with a bit of ire in her voice. "And if memory serves, you gave up on your own when you finally realized that you couldn't budge those boards no matter how hard you tried."

"Ya'll said it was a storage room before, too, not a bathroom," Osaka added.

Tomo couldn't help but to growl at the completely true accusations. "I'll show you guys!" she challenged before pointing to Chiyo. "Come spot for me!" the annoying girl demanded before rushing to the stairs.

"I'm glad she couldn't get in there," Kagura admitted from her spot at the end of the table as Chiyo obediently followed after Tomo. "It's creepy."

"It is kinda scary," Osaka agreed as she took the front row seat to the television next to Kagura. "I kinda wonder what could be in there, though," she admitted as she cast a glance at the ominous door.

Yomi observed the door for a moment before putting her two cents in. "I'm with Kagura. It looks like someone went through a lot of trouble to seal that door off. You don't do that kind of think without a good reason."

Sakaki nodded in agreement from her spot on the loveseat even though no one was looking at her. "We should leave it alone."

Even Osaka was a bit swayed by her friends' positions on the matter, though not by much. "Ah still kinda wonder what's in there," Osaka stated as she looked again to the menacing door.

At just about that time, a rapid thumping announced to everyone that the wildcat had returned. Tomo boisterously reentered the room proudly brandishing a crowbar that she got from who-knows-where. "I'll show you!" Tomo claimed again as she rushed to the sealed door.

"Back already?" Yomi exclaimed, fully surprised that the wildcat had somehow been in and out of there in so little time. "And where the hell did that crowbar come from?"

Tomo, of course, didn't pay Yomi much mind as she was too busy trying to prove herself right. Wedging the crowbar behind one of the boards, the wildcat managed to start to pull the wood away from the door. "It's working!"

"Don't do that!" Kagura scolded as she ran up to Tomo and tried to grab the crowbar away from her.

Refusing to relinquish the metal bar, Tomo threw all of her energy into keeping hold of the treasured object. "You won't get the glory this time!" she challenged. "I'm opening this one!"

"I don't care about that!" Kagura grunted as she did her best to rip the crowbar from Tomo's hands.

Finally winning the tug-of-war, Tomo jumped out of Kagura's reach, prompting the tomboy to press herself against the door in an attempt to interfere with the wildcat. "Outta the way!" Tomo demanded.

"This place was boarded up for a reason!" Kagura claimed. "It's even got spirit wards! What if there's something evil sealed in there?"

"Don't be stupid! Those sorts of things don't really exist!" Tomo scolded. "All that's gonna be in there is more cool stuff, and it's all gonna be mine!"

"It's no use arguing with her," Yomi advised. "Even if she gets cursed she won't learn anything."

"I don't want to get cursed!" Kagura asserted as she refused to move away from the door.

Tomo raised the crowbar above her head in a threatening manner. "I'm using this on the door or on you!" she warned.

"Just let her have her way," Yomi urged as she scooted over to allow Chiyo so sit down next to her. "We're going to work on our homework together," she invited the two arguing girls as she grabbed her bag. "Feel free to join us."

"You're just going to sit by and do nothing?" Kagura demanded as she reluctantly stepped away from the door, unsure of how serious Tomo was about her threat.

"Worst-case scenario is that she hurts herself," Yomi dismissed as she laid out her books next to Chiyo's. "Sounds like a win-win if you ignore the racket she's going to make, but then again, she's loud no matter what happens."

Kagura growled as she stormed up to the couch and grabbed her bag. "I have a really bad feeling about this," the tomboy admitted as she headed towards the stairs. "I'm not gonna stick around here and get cursed."

"Ah never figured that Kagura was so superstitious," Osaka commented as Kagura disappeared up the stairs.

"I believe it," Sakaki announced as she joined Chiyo and Yomi at the table. She couldn't help but pause as she noted the small silver bell attached to her bag before opening it to retrieve her books. "That kind of thing is real," she asserted.

"If ya'll believe in it, then are ya gonna leave like Kagura?" Osaka questioned, surprised that Sakaki was also superstitious.

Sakaki looked to the door and the wildcat who was doing her best to try and rip the boards off before shaking her head. "Maybe it's friendly."

A loud clank sounded as Tomo finally pried the first board free. Although the task was proving quite a bit harder than she expected, the wildcat wasn't deterred. "Hey, if Kagura's scared of ghosts, we should come up with something to spook her tomorrow!" Tomo insisted as she slid the crowbar behind the second board. "It'd be a riot!"

Doing her best to ignore her irritating friend, Yomi turned back to Osaka. "Are you going to join us?" Yomi invited as she motioned to Sakaki, who was already working together with her and Chiyo.

"What subject?" Osaka asked as she turned back to the TV.

"English," Yomi absentmindedly reported as she studied the materials in front of her.

"Ah'll pass," Osaka dismissed with a wave of her hand. The space cadet continued to stare at the TV for a few moments before a sudden thought hit her. "This here is nice an' all," she started as she turned around to face the group, "but how's this club any different from goin' ta Chiyo's place?"

Taking a look around, it was pretty clear that, aside from being secret, there wasn't a whole lot that was special about this place. "It's easier for all of us to gather here than to go all the way to Chiyo's, but I guess I can see your point." Putting her schoolbook aside, she recovered the leather-bound tome from her bag. "There are a lot of entries here from the previous presidents," she explained as she opened the book and flipped a few pages. "Many of them mention rearranging, adding, or removing things in the club room. I guess we can pretty much do anything we want to this room so long as we don't attract any attention."

It didn't even take half a second for Sakaki to respond to that statement. "Cat," she seriously requested.

"Ah! That's a great idea!" Chiyo praised before turning to Yomi. "We could keep a pet in here, right?"

"I'm not so sure," Yomi contradicted after a few moments of contemplation. "For the most part, I don't see a problem so long as it's a cat, but what about when we're on break from school? There wouldn't be anyone here to take care of it, and I'm pretty sure none of us could take it home, either."

"I… didn't think about that," Chiyo conceded.

"Just put it in a kennel!" Tomo butted in as she managed to pry another board from the doorframe. "That's what we do with Kuro whenever we're out of town."

"Do kennels take care of cats?" Yomi inquired, skeptical of any advice coming from the annoying girl.

"Dunno!" Tomo uselessly replied.

Yomi sighed at the typical answer. "If you want to keep a pet in here, then you should look into it," she advised as she turned her attention to Sakaki. "You should also consider the costs associated with keeping something like that."

Sakaki gave an enthusiastic nod, having already made up her mind that it didn't matter at all how much it would cost. She'd pay any amount to get the privilege of having her very own cat.

"Don't you sound like quite the adult," Tomo chastised Yomi's overly mature advice.

"I can't be a child forever, unlike you," Yomi countered.

"Yomi's just jealous that she's lost all of the splendor and innocence of her childhood," Tomo shot back.

"Exactly which part of you is innocent?" Yomi retorted. "You are pure evil wrapped up in a cute little package."

"So that leaves me with an innocent appearance!" Tomo easily rose to Yomi's challenge as she managed to pull another board free.

Yomi sighed as she resigned from the battle of wits. After all, it's hard to beat someone who will do anything to win. Be it stupidly flawed logic, sacrificing her own image and ego, or even putting her own health at risk, nothing can deter the infamous wildcat from harassing others. "You really have a lot of growing up to do," Yomi grumbled as she shifted her attention back to studying.

The girls continued their activities in relative silence as Tomo tore down board after board. It may have taken her a good twenty minutes and a lot more effort than she had expected, but the wild girl finally managed to pry away each and every board. "It's done!" Tomo excitedly announced as she frantically tried to work the doorknob, only to discover that it wouldn't budge. "It's locked!" she shouted in anger as she kicked the door.

Yomi had to stifle her laughter at the wildcat's stupidity. "They took the time to board it up and slap spirit wards on it, why on earth wouldn't they lock it?"

Tomo didn't pay the brunette any mind as she forced the crowbar into the door. "Come on!"

Curiosity winning out, both Yomi and Osaka got up to see the grand unveiling. "You get it?" Yomi asked as she approached the wildcat.

As if on cue, a loud bang sounded as the door flew open the crowbar clattered to the ground. "I did it!" Tomo gloated as she stepped into the mystery room and flicked on the light. As soon as the light came on, Tomo backpedalled and crashed into Yomi and Osaka.

"Oh… shit," Yomi breathed as she motionlessly held up Tomo and simply stared into the room.

"It's all dried up," Osaka observed as she peeked in to find that the room was, in fact, a rather large storage closet. The only thing that seemed to matter at the moment, though, was the clearly human corpse sprawled out on the floor. "Is it a mummy?" Osaka asked as she turned to Yomi. The bespectacled brunette just slowly shook her head as words completely failed her.

Seeing that something was amiss, Chiyo and Sakaki cautiously rose to their feet. "Wh-what is it?" Chiyo fearfully asked.

"It-it's a…a-a-a cor… a corpse!" Tomo stammered out as she finally started to recover from the shock.

Unfortunately for the five girls, it was in that moment that the sun succumbed to the horizon, and night overthrew day.


	3. Escape!

A/N: Turns out I've been sitting on this chapter for a while. I thought I uploaded it, but I guess I didn't. Oops. The good news is that the chapter following this one is close to being finished. Enjoy.

* * *

><p>As the girls stared in muted horror at the corpse hidden away in the supply closet, a powerful, unnatural breeze blew by them and into the clubroom. Accompanying the unholy wind was an unearthly buzzing that seemed to make the TV turn to static and the lights flicker.<p>

"M-maybe we should get out of here," Yomi suggested as everyone began to get freaked out. Yomi turned to head for the door, but as she approached the broken door, it slammed closed, sealing the girls in. Without delay, Yomi tried to force the door open but to no avail. Even ramming the stubborn barrier with her shoulder failed to do anything whatsoever. Giving up on her own ability, Yomi turned to quite possibly the strongest girl in the entire school. "Sakaki!" she insisted as she stepped away from the door and motioned to it for Sakaki to try.

As the eerie wind blew harder and harder, Sakaki didn't hesitate as she marched up to the door. Instead of trying to ram it, the tall girl assumed a firm stance and kicked the door with all of her might. Although the door failed to yield to the tall girl's strength, the force of the blow was still powerful enough to punch a hole in the flimsy particleboard door.

By this point, the evil breeze had grown strong enough to start lifting lighter books from their shelves. The unnatural force also seemed to have a malicious intent as all of the objects were flung in the direction of the girls huddled around the only way out.

"It hurts!" Chiyo whined as she tried in vain to find cover from the onslaught of flying objects.

"We're sorry for wakin' y'all up, Mr. Mummy!" Osaka apologized in hopes of placating the corpse.

As Sakaki continued to kick the door, Yomi came up with an idea. Grabbing the discarded crowbar, she shoved it behind the nearest shelf's brackets and forced the bookshelf away from the wall. As soon as it crashed to the ground, Yomi moved to prop it up on its side. "Give me a hand!" she demanded. Sakaki, Osaka, and even Tomo quickly gave assistance as the group managed to get the heavy, solid wood shelf on its side, creating a makeshift barrier that they could all crouch behind. "We've got to get the door open before the furniture starts flying around!" Yomi shouted over the now howling wind. The brunette then picked up the crowbar again and shoved it into Sakaki's hands before pointing to the door. "Tear it apart!"

Sakaki hesitated a moment before leaving the relative safety of the barrier to attack the door. At first she tried to wedge the crowbar in to pry the door open, but she couldn't even get it in between the door and the doorway. Giving up on that route, Sakaki moved to the hole she had made and used the crowbar to dig out the hole and make it bigger. And she was doing all of this while enduring heavier and heavier books as they were being flung at her with growing force.

"Why is this happening?" Chiyo wailed as she, like the other girls, was crouched down behind the bookshelf trying uselessly to protect her head with her hands.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Tomo apologized. "I didn't know there was a body in there!"

"What're we gonna do?" Osaka shouted over the incessant noise of the wind and the sound of books smashing against walls, the bookshelf, and even Sakaki's back.

"We've got to escape before we get smashed to death!" Yomi asserted as she looked to Sakaki. "How much longer?"

Sakaki kept hacking at the door with the crowbar for what painfully slow progress the improper tool allowed. "It's nearly big enough for Chiyo to-" the tall girl started, but was cut off as soon as she turned to look at Yomi and the rest of the group. A heavy, stray book managed to find its mark as it collided with Sakaki's temple with a muffled thud. The impact was violent enough to cause Sakaki's eyes to roll back in her head as she crumpled to the ground.

"Sakaki!" the group cried out in unison as the tall girl collided with the floor.

Yomi instantly darted over to the motionless girl in spite of the obvious danger. _Please don't be dead! _her mind screamed as she linked her arms underneath Sakaki's and started dragging the tall girl back towards the safety of the bookshelf. As Yomi shuffled backwards, she was relieved to feel Sakaki breathing.

Osaka was waiting for Yomi as she approached the makeshift barrier. "Is she dead?" Osaka asked as she helped Yomi get Sakaki out of harm's way.

Instead of Yomi, it was Sakaki who answered her. "It hurts," the tall girl groggily mumbled. In her eyes the whole world was distorted and there was an annoying ringing that echoed in her ears. As Sakaki reached up and touched her head, she hissed and jerked her hand away. "B-blood?" she mumbled as she struggled to sit up. "What… What happened?"

"Y'all got booked by a clock," Osaka answered her.

Yomi wasn't paying any mind as the rest of the group tended to Sakaki. Staying focused on the main problem, she scanned the floor for the crowbar. Unable to spy the essential instrument, Yomi turned back to the group. "Sakaki! Do you remember where you dropped the crowbar?"

The tall girl winced as she raised her head to look to Yomi. "Crow… bar?" she mumbled as she looked to her empty hands, completely bewildered.

As she was starting to let her emotions get the better of her, Yomi found the crowbar as it whizzed by her head, nearly taking her nose off. The brunette reflexively recoiled and ended up crashing into the others. "This… This is really bad!" she realized. "The wind is getting too strong! This thing won't protect us much longer!"

By this point Chiyo was crying hysterically. "Uwaa! I don't want to die!" she wailed. "Someone help us!"

"Are we… really gonna die?" Osaka tentatively asked, although she could barely be heard over the howling wind.

"We need a way out," Yomi realized as she stared at the small hole Sakaki managed to carve out. As she looked about in desperation for something capable of tearing down the door, her gaze landed on the distraught redhead. "Chiyo! Chiyo, can you fit through that?" Yomi demanded as she pointed to the door. Unfortunately, the small girl was too hysterical to hear a word of it. "Chiyo!" the brunette shouted again, still unable to get the tiny genius's attention. Yomi's words only continued to fail to reach Chiyo through her panic. Grabbing the little girl by the collar, Yomi forced Chiyo next to her and to look towards the door. Assured that she finally had the tiny girl's attention, Yomi pointed to the damaged door. "You need to get through there!" she shouted over the howling wind. "Find someone, find an axe, anything! All right?"

Chiyo shook her head, too afraid to leave the relative safety of the impromptu barrier. "I-I can't!"

"You are the only one who can fit!" Yomi shouted back. "If you don't do something and do it right now, then we're all going to get smashed to pieces!"

The small girl slowly turned to Yomi to reveal a tear-stained face. Hesitantly, she nodded. "B-but I'm scared!"

"I-I think we all are," Yomi admitted as she set her gaze back towards the door and their only escape route. "Are you sure you're ready?" she asked as she turned back to Chiyo. "I'll try to protect you as best I can."

Chiyo nodded again as new tears started to fall. "I'm… I'm ready, I think."

"Let's go!" Yomi shouted as she grabbed Chiyo and dashed for the door, making sure to weather most of the blows with her own body in order to shield Chiyo. As soon as they got to the door, Yomi wasted no time in trying to shove the reluctant redhead through the jagged hole. Despite getting a few scratches, Chiyo successfully dropped down on the other side of the door. "Go get help!" Yomi shouted through the hole after the redhead. Before she could even think to head back to the safety of the overturned bookshelf, Yomi felt a hand on her wrist forcefully jerk her away from the door. In that same moment, the television crashed screen-first into the door where she had been standing. The massive object exploded on impact, greatly expanding the existing hole and sending debris flying through to the other side. Before Yomi even had a chance to look up and see who had just saved her life, a piercing scream sounded from beyond the door.

"Chiyo!" Yomi found herself shouting as she scrambled back to the door. Crawling through the now gaping hole with ease, she found what she could make out as Chiyo's outline sitting on the stairs. "Are you all right?" she desperately asked as Sakaki came through the hole after her.

"It hurts!" Chiyo cried as Sakaki rushed to her aid.

Yomi was about to help Sakaki but remembered that there were still two people in danger. "Get her to safety!" the brunette urged as she cautiously turned back to the door. "Osaka! Tomo! You can get through now! Hurry up before it's too late!" Within seconds, Osaka appeared as she struggled through the hole in the door. "Where's Tomo?" Yomi demanded as she glanced back to spy Sakaki carrying Chiyo up the stairs.

"Right behind me," Osaka claimed as she struggled to get through the hole in the door.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Yomi announced as she dashed after Sakaki. After dashing to the top of the stairs and out through the secret bookcase, Yomi was relieved to finally be in the light and away from that pummeling deathtrap. As she caught sight of Sakaki with Chiyo still in her arms, that relief immediately vanished.

Now in the light, it was obvious that Sakaki had a gash on her head where the book had struck her. The wound left a trail of blood that flowed down her face and was draining into her blouse. Chiyo's condition was even more alarming. The shrapnel from the television clearly took its toll on the small girl. Not only were her clothes in tatters and several cuts adorning her exposed legs, hands, and face, but she had both hands clamped over her right eye and blood was seeping out from behind them.

"Ch-Chiyo! Are you all right?" Yomi found herself shouting. "Your eye!"

"It hurts!" the small genius whined. "It really hurts!"

"We need to get her to a hospital!" Yomi shouted as she rushed over to try and get a look at Chiyo's eye.

Osaka finally arrived on the scene to see Yomi doting over Chiyo. "Is everyone okay?" she asked as she approached.

"No," Yomi quickly answered as she turned to find only Osaka. "Tomo?" she spoke the word as it came to her mind. "Where's Tomo?"

"Ah thought she was behind me?" Osaka replied as she turned back to the secret door. "She ain't there," she observed with no sense of urgency whatsoever.

"Tomo!" Yomi shouted as she dashed to the bookcase and looked into the corridor. _She's still in there!_ the brunette realized as a fierce panic began to take hold. "I-I'm going back for her!"

"B-But Chiyo!" Sakaki protested as Yomi started down the stairs.

"Get her to a doctor!" Yomi yelled back to Sakaki as she dashed towards the cursed room with complete disregard for her own safety. Without a thought the bespectacled girl burst through the door and immediately found her missing friend. Tomo was in the same spot where she had been and was still crouched down with her arms protecting her head. Although Yomi was thankful that her friend seemed to be unhurt and even more grateful that the otherworldly wind had ceased, what was left behind only filled her with bewilderment, disbelief, and an urgent sense of trepidation.

The room was in perfect condition. The lights were back on and shining steadily. The books that had been shredded in the gale were not only back in good condition, but also back onto their proper shelves. Even the homework that they had been working on moments before Tomo forced the door was back just as they had left it. Perhaps even more absurd was that the bookshelf Tomo was supposed be hiding behind was once again in its proper position with books occupying its shelves. The TV that had provided the group with an escape route by being smashed into pieces against the door was back on its stand and playing the movie as if nothing had ever happened. And even the door itself was inexplicably undamaged. Sakaki and the TV had left that door in shambles when they left, but now it was back into one piece even though its hinges were still broken leaving the door hanging on by the padlock. If not for the lingering pain echoing from the pelting she had just received, Yomi might have just written the whole ordeal off as one hell of a hallucination.

Prying herself away from the infinitely unsettling state of the room, Yomi forced herself to focus on the reason she was here. "T-Tomo!" she shouted as she ran up to the petrified girl. "Tomo, we have to get out of here before something else happens!" When Tomo made to move to so much as acknowledge that Yomi's words had reached her, the bespectacled girl reached out to shake her. The instant that her finger touched Tomo's shoulder the normally hyperactive girl drew a sharp breath as her head jerked up revealing a tear-stained face contorted into abject terror.

"Y-Yomi?" Tomo muttered in disbelief. As soon as she was certain that her lifelong friend was indeed standing next to her, Tomo shot up and wrapped her hands around the taller girl's neck. "You-you're not dead! I know-I saw you… I thought…" she blubbered nearly incoherently.

As much as Yomi wanted to yell at Tomo for staying behind, she just couldn't muster the anger seeing her dear friend in such a state. "Why didn't you come with us, you idiot?" she chided as she pried her friend away. "But that's beside the point. We need to get out of here before something else happens."

"What on earth happened down here?" Osaka wondered aloud as she stepped past the door. "Everythin' is back ta tha way it was. Was it a dream?"

"It has to have been! That-that wasn't real!" Tomo argued as she started to get a hold of herself.

"It doesn't matter. Let's just get out of here while we still have the chance," Yomi suggested as she wrapped her hand around Tomo's wrist and started for the door. No matter what, she wasn't about leave Tomo behind again.

"Aren'ch'all gonna get yer stuff?" Osaka asked as she retrieved her own bag next to the table. "Ah think we're all safe now."

Yomi hesitated. Although things seemed to be okay for the moment, the bespectacled brunette just couldn't shake the feeling of dread that consumed her. "L-let's just hurry up," she insisted as she released Tomo and darted over to the table only to haphazardly throw things into bags. "We'll need to get Chiyo and Sakaki's things, too," Yomi allowed as she scrambled to get everything into place as quickly as she could. "Osaka, did they leave already?"

The spacey girl nodded even though Yomi wasn't looking in her direction. "Sakaki took off with Chiyo just before ah came ta see if y'all were dead or not."

"They're… okay?" Tomo asked as she retrieved her bag.

"Chiyo's hurt," Yomi claimed as she tossed a bag to Osaka before grabbing two herself. "We can talk about it after we get out of here."

"I wanna get out of here, too," Tomo admitted as she ran over and grabbed the crowbar, which was lying next to the closet door where she had dropped it just after cracking the door open.

"I don't think it's so bad now that tha vortex of death thingy is gone," Osaka claimed.

"I don't see how you're not fazed by what just happened," Yomi remarked as she stood by the exit waiting for Osaka and Tomo to leave with her.

Tomo didn't move as the crowbar rested in her lax grip. "Where… did it go?" she mumbled as she stayed there motionlessly. "It's… gone."

"It's in your damned hand!" Yomi impatiently scolded. "Get up and let's go!"

The wildcat's response was anything but predictable. Tomo shrieked as she covered her head. "It-it's coming for me!"

Quite alarmed, both Yomi and Osaka rushed to Tomo's side. "What's wrong!" Yomi worried as she looked about in a panic. Tomo seemed to be just fine and, at least for the moment, it didn't seem like the room was going to try and kill them. "There's nothing," Yomi insisted as she tried to pull Tomo to her feet. "Now let's leave before something tries to kill us again."

Osaka was just a bit more observant than Yomi. "Ah, where did Mr. Mummy go?" Osaka asked as she pushed the closet door all the way open. "There's only one way out, right?"

Yomi had to force herself to peer into the storage closet. Sure enough, the only sign that anything had been there at all was the lack of dust on the floor in the shape of the corpse's outline. The prospect was terrifying. Whatever had just attempted to beat them to death wasn't just lying around anymore. The accursed thing could be absolutely anywhere, and that was enough to frighten Yomi to no end. "L-let's get out of here! Before that thing comes back!" Yomi insisted as she grabbed Tomo's shirt and pulled the girl to her feet before dragging her towards the door. "We have to get out! Out of the building entirely!"

Osaka trailed behind, taking the time to turn off the TV and the lights before heading up the stairs to meet up with Yomi and Tomo. "Do ya really think that Mr. Mummy is in tha school somewhere?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Yomi retorted. "I don't even know what the hell that thing was or what happened to us or anything! I just want to get out of here alive."

"Then let's leave!" Tomo spoke up, eager to leave as well.

Yomi nodded in agreement. "I'll call Sakaki once we get the hell out of here."

"If we get outta here alive," Osaka added as the trio started to leave.

"Don't say stuff like that!" Yomi barked.


	4. Affliction

Yomi, Tomo, and Osaka gathered just outside of the school grounds bathed in the eerie glow of a single streetlight as Yomi spoke on her cell phone. "All right… okay… okay…" she replied to Sakaki, leaving the other two girls in the dark. "Just take care of yourself… that's good to hear. Okay, bye," Yomi finished up before pocketing the phone with a sigh.

"What's going on? They… they're alive, right?" Tomo asked.

"The ambulance just got to the hospital," Yomi explained as she raised an eyebrow to Tomo's question. "It looks like they're both going to be okay, but Sakaki has a concussion and they're worried about Chiyo's eye."

"Does that mean they're gonna be all right?" Osaka fretted.

Yomi shook her head. "I don't know. I guess Sakaki will be okay, but Chiyo might have been blinded in that eye, or worse."

"Tha' sounds pretty bad," Osaka replied.

"Let's just hope for the best," Yomi sighed as the group started off.

While Yomi and Tomo started in one direction, Osaka turned in the direction of her own home. Osaka then turned back to the duo, unwilling to go it alone. "Um… ah live this way," she pointed out the obvious as she motioned down the street.

Yomi couldn't help but to chuckle a little. "I'm kind of glad to see that you aren't completely unfazed by what happened," she commented as she walked back towards Osaka alongside Tomo. "We can walk each other home, but someone will have to walk home by themselves in the end."

"At least it won't be me," Osaka expressed her relief as the group started towards her home. "It's pretty creepy out here."

"I don't… even wanna think about it," Tomo complained as she crossed her arms over her chest and unconsciously moved a bit closer to Yomi. "I've never been so scared in my life."

"We were all terrified," Yomi surmised as she cast a glance at the somber wildcat. "I don't even believe in the supernatural."

"How can ya say that after what just happened?" Osaka demanded with a hint of anger in her voice.

"I meant that I didn't used to," the brunette clarified. "After… that, I just… I'm pretty sure I'm a believer in ghosts, or spirits, or whatever that damned thing was. I mean, we were nearly just killed by magic flying furniture! I kind of wonder if this is all some kind of dream or horrible hallucination or something like that."

Tomo shook her head a bit as she hugged herself a bit tighter. "There's no way it could have been a dream," she refuted. "My imagination couldn't come up with something that scary. I-I really thought you all were dead."

"You should have come with us when we bolted," Yomi scolded.

"Hey, if there was a mummy in that closet, does that mean Yukari and Nyamo are killlers?" Osaka interrupted. "Now that we know tha secret, are they gonna kill us, too?"

"D-don't get ahead of yourself," Yomi urged. "They don't know that we know. And there isn't any proof that they did anything wrong. We just found a body in a secret clubroom that they used to run purposely boarded up and buried where no one would ever, ever find it…" The bespectacled girl fell silent as the group kept walking for several seconds. "They… might be murderers."

Osaka nodded in agreement. "It's dangerous!" she asserted. "Ah mean, if they already know that we know, then they're gonna kill us, right? Except that we know that they know that we know, so we've gotta be prepared."

Yomi struggled to keep up with Osaka's cyclical ramblings. "I really don't think that they know anything, yet. And besides that, we're not completely sure if they're the ones responsible for that corpse or not," the brunette claimed. "I kind of wanted to grill them about all of this, but I guess that we should keep our mouths shut, just in case."

"Can we talk about something else?" Tomo practically begged. "I don't… even want to think about it."

Osaka's idea of something else was still pretty much the same thing. "That thing tried ta kill us, but we never did nothin' to it," she pointed out. "Do ya think it holds a grudge against Nyamo and Yukari?" It could be a dangerous situation for 'em."

"So are they the dangerous ones, or the ones in danger?" Yomi quipped, rather displeased with the strange girl's abrupt change in stance.

Osaka looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "Both, maybe? It's kinda like that The Most Dangerous Game story. They might be tha prey, but they're tha predator, too."

"And that analogy just leaves us at the bottom of the food chain," Yomi pointed out. "Besides that, how are Yukari and Nyamo supposed to fight against a spirit, or poltergeist, or whatever that unholy abomination was?"

"They're tha ones that sealed up in the first place, right?" Osaka insightfully asked.

"Good point," Yomi admitted as the trio came to a halt outside of Osaka's place. "You'll be fine making it from here on your own, right?"

Osaka looked to her house, to Yomi and Tomo, and back. "Ah sure hope so. Ah don't wanna get haunted… or dead."

"We'll walk you to the door," Yomi offered. Once Osaka had safely made it inside, Tomo and Yomi found themselves at an impasse. "One of us is going to have to go home alone, you know," Yomi observed as the inseparable duo headed toward their part of the neighborhood.

"W-why don't I just spend the night at your place?" Tomo pleaded.

Yomi nodded in acceptance of the idea's merit. "That way no one goes home alone," she stated the obvious. "It's a good idea. You've still got pajamas at my house anyway."

"Right," Tomo mumbled.

The bespectacled girl cocked an eyebrow as she carefully took note of her friend's state. Tomo was acting so demure that it was downright surreal. "You aren't going to brag about it?" Yomi asked, actually hoping for some showboating from the normally wild girl. Tomo just thoughtlessly shook her head in response. "It's over now," the brunette assured Tomo. "It was really, really scary and it's still kind of creepy walking home in the dark, but it really is over. You don't need to still be so freaked out."

Tomo shook her head again. "It was really… horrible. I don't even wanna think about it," she claimed as she hugged herself.

Picking up on her friend's not so subtle hint, Yomi decided to change the subject. "I guess Kagura had the right idea," she stated in a forcibly upbeat tone. "She will never believe this one, huh?" This time, Tomo didn't make any effort to respond whatsoever. Yomi let out a frustrated sigh as she scratched her head. ""That's still talking about it, huh?" Yomi spoke what she figured was on Tomo's mind. "Sorry about that." Still not getting a rise even with an earnest apology, Yomi resigned herself to silence as they made their way to her house.

After a rather uncomfortable walk in complete silence the pair finally arrived at Yomi's residence. Instead of being comforting, the house seemed to be a bit foreboding. There didn't seem to be a single light on in the house and the only sounds that could be heard were the buzzing of the nearby streetlights. "Doesn't look like anyone is here," Yomi observed as she retrieved her house key from her pocket. Again Tomo made no effort to respond, but made sure to keep herself within a couple of steps of her friend. As Yomi opened the door and stepped inside she spotted a note hanging by the entryway that confirmed her suspicions. "Crap," she muttered aloud as she read the note. "It looks like it's just the two of us tonight."

"Oh," Tomo muttered as she mechanically removed her shoes.

Yomi had to force herself not to sigh at Tomo's dismally flaccid response. "Tomo, it's fine now," she affirmed as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We are perfectly safe here. You don't need to worry anymore."

Tomo's response was anything but expected. The normally hyper girl looked up at Yomi to reveal tears running down her cheeks. "It was horrible!" Tomo exclaimed as she latched onto her friend and buried her face into Yomi's shoulder.

Yomi had little choice other than to return Tomo's hug and try to comfort her friend, even though it seemed as though Tomo was blowing this thing completely out of proportion. "To-Tomo, what's gotten into you? I know it was bad, but this is…"

"Why don't you care?" Tomo snapped as she hugged Yomi tighter. "Everyone's acting like it was nothing! I'd rather die than experience that again!"

"Wha-?" Yomi mumbled aloud as she pondered the mystery behind Tomo's words. The worst part about the whole ordeal was the threat of death, but no one died. So why would Tomo rather die than experience it again? "Did… something else happen to you?" she asked as she remembered that Tomo was left alone for a minute or two. The only response she received was Tomo shaking her head. Yomi couldn't really tell if it meant that nothing had happened, or if it meant that Tomo couldn't muster the ability to talk about it. She suspected the latter.

It took several minutes before Tomo had calmed down enough to reluctantly release Yomi from the embrace. Although Yomi was tempted to press Tomo again about what had happened, she didn't want to risk upsetting her friend again. Instead she opted to change the subject and act like nothing had happened. "I'm hungry," the brunette announced to Tomo with a fake smile. "Why don't you watch TV or something while I make us something to eat?"

As Yomi headed for the kitchen, she noticed that Tomo wasn't headed for the living room or even Yomi's bedroom. The normally excitable girl was instead following after Yomi not even two paces behind her. Once they had arrived in the kitchen Tomo finally broke away. Tomo moved to a familiar spot next to a counter, hoisted herself up, and sat on the counter. Yomi had seen her friend sitting there at least a hundred times before. Usually Tomo would be leaning back with that stupid grin on her face freely swinging her legs and generally being loud. And, normally, Yomi would find herself uselessly scolding her about it. This time was definitely different, though. The once irritating and boisterous girl was just sitting there hunched over, motionless and silent. It was almost creepy.

"What do you want to eat? It's your choice," Yomi offered in hopes of getting a response, any response that echoed the energetic nature of her friend.

Instead Tomo only shook her head a little and muttered a barely audible, "Whatever."

"Tomo," Yomi mumbled with a little sigh. "Are you… you're okay, right?" Again Tomo shook her head as her shoulders shuddered a bit. Even though Tomo's slouched over posture successfully hid her face from Yomi's view, the brunette wasn't fooled and could easily tell that Tomo had begun to cry again. As much as Yomi wanted to comfort her friend, she knew full well that she was stumbling about in a figurative mine field. As long as they've been friends, Yomi couldn't recall more than a time or two that she had seen Tomo in this kind of condition and she honestly didn't know what to do. Tomo wasn't usually the one that needed cheering up, after all. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Yomi empathized as she carefully chose her words. "But if there is anything you need, I'll do whatever it takes." She comforted her friend as she put hand on Tomo's.

Tomo nearly caused Yomi to jump when she suddenly put her free hand on top of Yomi's and gripped it. "Just… stay," Tomo choked out as she struggled to stymy her sobs.

Yomi couldn't quite follow what Tomo was asking for, but did her best to comfort her anyway. "I-I'm right here," she reminded Tomo. "I don't understand what you-"

"Don't leave me alone!" Tomo emotionally blurted out as she tightened her grip on Yomi's hand. "Just… don't ever go away… please."

Giving in to empathy and heavy dose of guilt, Yomi pulled Tomo off of the counter and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. "This is… my fault, isn't it?" Yomi whispered. "I'm really, really sorry. I should have made sure that you were with us. I never meant to leave you behind. I'm so sorry."

Tomo shook her head while keeping it buried in Yomi's shoulder. "I-I'm just glad… you-you're okay."

"I was never in any more danger than anyone else," Yomi comforted Tomo after a few seconds of silence. "I should have stayed behind and protected you."

"No!" Tomo viscerally refuted.

"Wh-what?" a puzzled Yomi stammered. "You don't want me to protect you?"

Tomo shook her head as she kept an iron grip on the taller girl. "I-I can't… not again," she choked out as tears fell anew. "Pro-promise me…" Tomo begged, "promise me that… that if-if I'm ever in danger you-you won't… risk your life to save mine. Promise me."

"What are you saying?" Yomi puzzled. "You might drive me nuts, but you are still my friend… my most precious friend that I've known my whole life. So if there's anything I can do to save you, then of course I'll do whatever it takes. I'll protect you at any cost."

"No!" Tomo protested again as tears flowed anew. "You can't… you can't do that! I… I can't watch you die again! I-I would rather just… just die myself than to see-to see… _that_ again! So please… don't die for me. Promise me… you wouldn't ever d-do that to me. Promise me you won't leave me all alone!"

"I-I promise," Yomi absentmindedly swore more to try to sate Tomo than anything else. The brunette's thoughts were still clogged up on making sense of Tomo's ramblings. "What exactly are you talking about, though? I don't understand."

"I want… I want to s-stop thinking about it," Tomo claimed in a slightly less distressed tone. "I just… I keep seeing it over and over. It won't stop! I want it to stop!"

Tomo's bizarre ramblings only seemed to drive Yomi closer to panic as she struggled to make any sense out of Tomo's ramblings and her increasingly erratic behavior. "Wh-what's gotten into you?" Yomi asked as gingerly as she could. "Why are you so upset?"

"It-it didn't really… happen. I know that," Tomo mumbled as she kept a fierce grip on Yomi. "Bu-but I still… I saw it. I saw it… kill you."

The pieces started to fall into place for Yomi, even if she still couldn't see the entire picture. "This happened while you were alone."

Tomo did her best to stymy her sobs as she nodded."T-to me it wasn't… I was never alone," she explained. "The door… wo-wouldn't open. Then… _it_ came out after us. It-it was as strong as a monster… stronger."

"By 'it' you mean the mummy," Yomi guessed as she tried to follow Tomo's tale.

The distressed girl nodded again. "It-it… killed everyone. One by one. Ch-Chiyo… Sakaki… Osaka… then-then you tried… tried to-to protect me and-and…"

"I think I get the picture," Yomi interrupted her friend. Not only because talking about it was obviously taking its toll on Tomo, but because Yomi herself didn't want to hear the end. "Whatever that was… it had to be an illusion. A hallucination. I'm right here and we just walked Osaka home. Chiyo and Sakaki are more or less all right, too. I promise."

"I-I know that," Tomo claimed, "but I can't stop thinking about it. I just-I keep seeing it play over and over in my head."

"Maybe you'll calm down if you just get your mind off of things," the brunette suggested, unable to come up with any more comforting words. Fully aware of the fact that Tomo was not about to leave her side, Yomi was forced to make an offer that had quite literally blown up in her face before. "Wh-why don't you give me hand cooking? I'm starving and I know you have got to be hungry, too."

Tomo refused to let Yomi go. "I'm not hung-" she started to claim, only to be cut off by the sound of her own stomach growling.

Yomi couldn't help but to chuckle at the timing. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

"I don't even understand what you just said!" Tomo complained, with an obviously improved mood.

"Come on," Yomi urged as she pried Tomo away from herself. "You'll feel better if you just forget about everything for right now."

"Fine," Tomo submitted as she dried the last of her tears.

* * *

><p>AN: The story didn't progress much this chapter, but things get into full swing next chapter. The rating will also possibly change next chapter.


	5. Manifestation

A/N: This is the longest chapter thus far in the story. Also the most violent. As a result I have bumped up the rating to M. You have been warned.

* * *

><p>"Morning!" Kagura loudly announced as she barged into the familiar classroom. She quickly spied all of her friends minus a conspicuously absent redhead all gathered around Sakaki's desk. "Uwa! What happened to you guys!" the tomboy thoughtlessly exclaimed as she approached to find her friends looking like they just got back from a warzone. Every last one of them was sporting quite a few bruises, although Sakaki was clearly in the worst condition. Her valiant efforts left her with head-to-toe bruises and a dressing covering the stitches in her forehead.<p>

The entire group looked to Kagura as they all suddenly realized that no one had bothered to inform the tomboy about the horrific events that had occurred. Yomi was the first one to find her voice. "That's… I'm glad you're okay," she stammered with a small, sad smile. "It looks like you really had the right idea. We should have listened to you. Sorry."

Kagura scratched her head as she tried and failed to make sense of Yomi's words. "Uhh… what?"

"There was a body in tha closet! It tried ta kill us!" Osaka tactlessly blurted out.

The tomboy continued to look rather confused for a moment before shifting to indignation. "I get it!" she angrily retorted. "You're just makin' fun of me because of yesterday! I said I'll keep it a secret and I will. You don't have to tease me about it!"

Yomi motioned to Sakaki. "Does this look like teasing?" she dryly asked. "Something really tried to kill us. A ghost, phantom, spirit, poltergeist- _something!_ I really thought that we might die."

"You're... serious?" Kagura hesitantly asked.

The entire group nodded in response before relaying the whole crazy story to the oblivious tomboy. While Yomi volunteered most of the story, Osaka occasionally put her two cents into it. Sakaki and Tomo stayed silent throughout the entire tale. Such silence was normal for Sakaki, but a shockingly bizarre feat for Tomo. "…so they decided to keep Chiyo overnight at the hospital," Yomi finished telling Kagura about the aftermath. "She's probably at home recuperating by now."

"So her eye is gonna be okay?"

"From what I understand, Chiyo should make a full recovery," Yomi recalled as she turned to Sakaki for confirmation. The tall girl showed it with a nod.

"What about Tomo?" Kagura questioned as she pointed to the numb girl. "She's like a zombie."

Yomi sighed. She had left out Tomo's torment on purpose, mostly because she still wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. "She's been pretty traumatized by the whole ordeal," she wrote off Tomo's behavior. "I'm sure we are all still kind of freaked out."

"This is all a little hard to swallow," Kagura admitted as she scratched the back of her head.

"We didn't bruise ourselves," Yomi dryly relpied.

Kagura shook her head as she held up her hands. "It's not only that," she claimed. "I just find it hard to believe that Sensei would hurt anyone."

"We're not saying she did," Yomi asserted. "But at the very least she helped cover something up. That's why we've decided to talk to her and Yukari-sensei after school today."

"I keep telling ya, it's a bad idea ta talk ta 'em," Osaka proclaimed. "We'll end up tha victims of a murderin' spree!"

"It's easier to deal with a living assassin than a dead one," Yomi retorted. "That _thing_ is still around here, you know. We have to figure out how to get rid of it."

At the word 'thing' Tomo instinctively latched onto Yomi's arm. "You-you think it's going to try… to try and kill everyone?"

"I don't know," Yomi sighed. "That's why we have to talk to them. To find answers."

"We just have ta find someone to exorcise tha school or somethin' like that," Osaka argued. "No sense in provoking a couple ah murderers inta killin' us."

"Sensei ain't a murderer!" Kagura shouted, eliciting the attention of everyone that had already arrived.

Yomi groaned at Kagura's ineptitude. "We'll talk about this later," she insisted as she motioned towards the clock. "Class is about to start anyway."

* * *

><p>Several hours later, Kagura was still trying to grasp everything that had occurred last night. Thanks to Kagura's incessant questions, the group was running late for gym.<p>

"Sooo, it's _not_ a zombie?" she asked as the group hurriedly filed into the locker room.

"I keep telling you, we have no clue what the hell it is," Yomi irately replied. "But it wasn't a zombie."

"Then how did the body disappear?" Kagura argued as she stripped her blouse off and replaced it with a gym shirt.

"It just vanished!" Yomi snapped as she cast a glance at a still-distressed Tomo. "I don't know what happened to it, but it certainly didn't get up and shamble off."

"Yeah, but—"

"Shut up!" Yomi barked. "We don't know what we're dealing with," she stated in a calmer tone. "We'll find that out after school today. Speculating now won't do us any good."

Kagura growled as she slammed her locker shut. _What the hell is her problem?_ she wondered as she stormed out of the changing room.

Yomi tried in vain to vent her irritation with a sigh as she pulled her gym shirt over her head. "You okay?" the brunette inquired as she replaced her glasses and turned to see Tomo still fiddling with her locker.

Tomo's only reply was a subtle shake of her head.

"Maybe y'all should go home," Osaka suggested. "Or at least ta tha nurse's office."

"We were up pretty much all night," Yomi agreed. "Some sleep might do you good."

"You're going?" Tomo asked as she looked to Yomi.

The bespectacled girl shook her head. "I'm rather used to all-nighters," she replied. "I'll be fine."

"I'm staying with you," Tomo proclaimed.

Yomi sighed. "Fine," she allowed. "But you'd better hurry up and get dressed," Yomi suggested as she took note that her friend hadn't even begun to get changed. "We're going to miss roll call."

"R-right," Tomo squeaked as she struggled to get her shirt off. Quickly stuffing it into the locker, she then pulled her gym shirt over her head.

"We're going," Yomi informed Tomo as she and Osaka started through the door. "Hurry up. We're late as it is."

"W-wait!" Tomo pleaded as she struggled to pull her head through the shirt. Unfortunately, as soon as she was able to look around, Tomo found herself all alone. "Yomi!" she desperately called out just as the door swung closed. As soon as the audible 'click' sounded from the closing door everything in room was plunged into complete darkness. The black nothingness drained Tomo of all of her strength, causing her to collapse on the spot. "Yo… mi…"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Yomi and Osaka had barely managed to make it in time for roll call. The two girls fell into line just as Nyamo began calling out names. Nyamo gave them the stink eye as she continued to record attendance, but didn't seem to be willing to punish the duo for their tardiness. <em>Tomo had better hurry up<em>, Yomi prayed as her turn in the roll came and went.

Her annoyance quickly turned to worry as the seconds painfully ticked by. _Where is she?_ Yomi fretted as Nyamo called out the last few names. As soon as the gym teacher had finished, the bespectacled girl quickly spoke up, "Tomo's still in the changing room, I'll go get her."

"Is she?" Nyamo asked as she scribbled on her clipboard. "I'll go get Tomo," she announced. "You stay here and do your warm-up with everyone else." The teacher then turned to her star pupil. "Kagura, I trust you can take care of things?"

"S-sure," the tomboy accepted.

"I-I'll go with you," Yomi volunteered as the students began to spread out.

Nyamo shook her head. "You can't get out of work that easily, and neither can Tomo. I'll be back in a minute."

Yomi clenched her fists in frustration. "Be-be careful!" she called out as Nyamo began her retreat.

* * *

><p>"Tomo?" Nyamo called out as she entered the changing room. As she walked into the small room Nyamo found no signs of life whatsoever. <em>What's gotten into that girl? She usually enjoys gym class. Why would she skip?<em> Nyamo idly wondered as she glanced about the empty room.

Giving up, Nyamo turned to leave. Before she could take so much as a single step, an unnatural and powerful breeze circled throughout the room. The supernatural wind slammed the teacher into the lockers behind her. As the wind continued to pass through the room, it opened every single locker. Despite the wind manipulating the metal doors, nothing else in the room moved whatsoever. Then, just as suddenly as the mysterious force appeared, it ceased.

"Well, well, well," a deep, masculine, and unearthly voice boomed. "Here I was wondering how to go about seeking you out, and here you just show up all on your own."

Following the sound of the demonic voice, Nyamo looked up and over her shoulder to spy Tomo lounging on top of the lockers. "T-Tomo?" Nyamo squeaked as she turned around and stumbled backwards. "Wh-what…?"

"Don't look so surprised, Kurosawa," Tomo teased with a Cheshire cat grin. "It doesn't suit you."

In one smooth motion, Tomo sat up and leaped down off of the lockers. She gracefully landed right in front of Nyamo so that her nose was only a few centimeters away from Nyamo's. The gym teacher instantly recoiled in surprise and fear. Her backpedalling caused her to trip over a bench and end up in a sitting position thanks to the table behind the bench painfully breaking her fall.

"Now that is the expression I wanted to see," Tomo chuckled with that unnerving, inhuman voice as she smiled at the pained look on Nyamo's face. "Terror, pain, anguish… that's what I want to see more of!"

Nyamo scrambled to her feet as Tomo strode towards her. As she turned to flee, the unearthly wind appeared again. In a flash the table and benches crashed into the small space where the only door was, effectively sealing her in. The teacher fearfully turned to face Tomo as she slowly backed away from the smaller girl. "Wha-wh-who are you? What do you want?" Nyamo cried as she ended up backing into another row of lockers.

"Who am I?" Tomo repeated the question as she appeared to give it some serious thought. "Well, that's something rather hard to describe to a mere human. Beings such as myself have no need for names. If you insist, you can just keep calling me 'Tomo.' As for what I want… well, I already told you, didn't I?" she continued as she slowly closed the distance between herself and Nyamo, thoroughly enjoying the woman's terror. "Lucky you… you get to be the first," she taunted as she stopped right in front of the teacher. "Now, let me see another painful expression!" the booming voice cried out as Tomo wrapped her hands around Nyamo's throat and squeezed.

Tomo's sudden assault caught Nyamo off guard. At first she uselessly tried to pull at Tomo's hands, but to no avail. Gathering her wits, the gym teacher realized that in order to save herself she would have to actually assault one of her students. Not that she was entirely convinced the thing trying to choke her to death was actually Tomo. Summoning as much strength as she could muster, Nyamo tried striking Tomo's outstretched arm at the elbow. The desperate blows failed completely to hyperextend Tomo's elbow. To Nyamo, it seemed as though Tomo's arm was as solid as stone and her grip just as dire.

As her lungs burned and the blood pooled in her head Nyamo felt her strength ebb as her vision began to fade away. In desperation, she groped around in the open lockers behind her for something, anything to rescue her from her plight. Her aimless groping rewarded her with something better than she could have hoped for. Nyamo wrapped her fingers around a cold hunk of metal. With a flick of her wrist, Nyamo used the last of her strength to attack Tomo's forearm. This time Tomo's grip slackened as she recoiled away from Nyamo.

The near-death experience left Nyamo without the strength to so much as stand. Her legs gave out and she collapsed in a heap as she coughed and gasped for air. Nyamo looked to her outstretched hand as she began to recover. There she was able to lay sight on the item that had spared her life: a folding knife. The blade was stained red as the crimson fluid slowly drained down the blade and onto her hand. As Nyamo regained her strength and her senses returned, it dawned on her that a clearly feminine voice was screaming.

"It hurts! It hurts!" Tomo cried out, this time in her own voice. The poor girl was gripping her left arm. Thanks to Nyamo's haphazard attack, several gashes on Tomo's forearm were gushing blood. "It really hurts!"

Nyamo tried to call out to Tomo, but the only sounds that escaped her throat were incoherent, raspy whispers. _My voice!_ she panicked as she struggled to her feet. The gym teacher looked from the bloody blade to the writhing girl as she tried to grasp the situation. _It's Tomo now? Is it really her?_ Nyamo wondered. A flash of inspiration suddenly hit her. She spun around and scanned the lockers. Nyamo grabbed the first cellphone she laid eyes on and wasted no time dialing for emergency services. As soon as she heard the operator pick up she tried again to summon her voice. Again no intelligible sound came. Turning back to Tomo, she found the girl was still trying to stem the bleeding as she cried and whimpered. Nyamo staggered over and held out the phone to Tomo.

Tomo looked to Nyamo, the knife, and the phone before shaking her head. "I-I can't," she struggled to speak. "It's coming! Run… run away!" As soon as Tomo got that much out, her posture drooped and her demeanor rapidly shifted.

"You bitch!" Tomo bellowed, her voice once again contorting into something inhuman. She slapped the phone away, causing it to crash into the lockers across the room. Tomo tried to grab Nyamo, but the woman instantly stumbled backwards and away following the assault. Nyamo ended up backing up into a corner again. With little other choice, she defensively held up the knife in front of her with both hands.

"And to think that I offered you such a painless death, too," Tomo growled as she held up her bloodied arm. "I'll return this pain to you a hundred-fold!" she roared as she thrust her other arm behind her towards the door. The abandoned furniture there yielded to the monster's dark power. The table and benches lifted up and away from the entrance. "I'm _really_ going to enjoy this!" Tomo swung her arm towards Nyamo and the furniture followed suit, flying into the unprotected woman. Satisfied, Tomo whipped her arm behind her again, this time causing the furniture to fly haphazardly around and crash randomly about the room.

When the dust cleared, it revealed Nyamo lying in a heap in the corner. "I certainly hope that didn't kill you," Tomo growled as she marched over and grabbed a handful of Nyamo's hair. She pulled Nyamo up to her feet, then, with an inhuman strength, pulled her off the ground completely. Tomo grinned as she found Nyamo both alive and conscious. "You're not dead, yet," she taunted as she effortlessly tossed the teacher to the middle of the room. Once again, she held out a hand. This time the dropped knife levitated off of the ground and leisurely floated over next to Tomo. It stayed close to the smirking girl as she strolled towards Nyamo.

Nyamo desperately tried to climb to her feet now that there was a chance to escape. It was a daunting task. The aching left in her throat was easily overshadowed by the pain brought on by the onslaught of furniture. She was certain that her left arm and leg were broken as well as many of her ribs. There might have been other damage, but the pain from her broken bones was overwhelming anything and everything else. The injured woman only got as far as her hands and knees before she received an excruciatingly painful kick to the ribs.

"You've still got some spunk," Tomo sadistically noted as she stood over the poor woman. "That's good. It means I get to have more _fun_ with you!" She emphasized the word fun by willing the floating knife to thrust into Nyamo's shoulder. "The longer you cling to life, the more I get to enjoy myself," Tomo taunted as the knife rocked back and forth in the wound, seemingly all on its own.

As painful as the blunt trauma was, the knife in her shoulder burned even brighter. There was little hope of her making an escape given her condition. Crying out for help wouldn't do her any good, either. Despite trying to cry out in pain over and over, no sounds came from her damaged throat. In spite of all of that, a glimmer of hope yet remained. That hope was the knife twisting in her shoulder. Nyamo gathered her strength and made a grab for the knife's handle. Wrapping her hand around the hilt, she managed to overcome the searing pain and extract the blade from the wound.

"Pathetic," the evil voice taunted as Tomo easily kicked Nyamo's hand to the side and stepped on Nyamo's wrist. She ground her heel into the woman's arm until she relinquished her hold on the knife. The moment the blade slipped from Nyamo's hand it shot up into the air, turned around, and shot blade first into the woman's hand, skewering it.

"That should solve your little rebellious streak," Tomo smirked as the knife obeyed the dark power controlling it and extracted itself from Nyamo's hand. For good measure, she then stomped on the wounded hand a couple of times. "It's a shame that I did such a number on your throat," the monstrous voice lamented. "I really would have enjoyed the sounds of your screams!" the evil being mocked as she forced the flying knife's blade to sweep across Nyamo's face, leaving a lateral gash just under her eyes.

Tomo sighed at the lack of satisfaction the sadistic torture granted. "I guess I'm already bored with you," the otherworldly sound emanating from Tomo's throat complained. "Oh well," she resigned, "only four more to go to repay my debt. Then I can do whatever I like," Tomo spoke to no one in particular. "Hmmm, what to do with this, though?" she pondered as the knife thrust itself into Nyamo's thigh.

_Am I really going to die like this?_ Nyamo agonized as she tried to endure the searing pain. _I don't want to die!_ Try as she might, the beaten and bloodied woman couldn't muster the energy to move at all. _I don't want to die…_

* * *

><p>As everyone was finishing their warm-ups, Yomi's patience had reached its limit. <em>They shouldn't be taking this long<em>, she worried as she tried in vain to suppress the feeling of dread that threatened to consume her. The brunette ended up sneaking off and headed for the girl's locker room.

Yomi's fears were reinforced when she approached the locker room and discovered that the door's window had been smashed. She carelessly dashed over the broken shards and flung the door open. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the center of the room. Nothing could have possibly prepared her for the horrible scene in front of her. Tomo was standing over a broken and bloodied Nyamo. Blood was still draining down Tomo's wounded arm and dripping into the collecting pool of blood that was growing outward from the motionless teacher.

"Hmmm? A guest?" the dark voice called out as Tomo turned to find Yomi. She chuckled at the sight. "Welcome to our little party," she announced as the knife extracted itself from Nyamo's gut leaving behind a trail of draining blood as it rose into the air. "You _just_ missed all the festivities!"

Yomi instinctively covered her mouth as she recoiled in horror. Try as she might, Yomi couldn't so much as make a squeak. She just shook her head slowly as she ended up backing up into the lockers.

"As much as I'd love to _entertain_ my new guest, I really need to get going," the monstrous voice lamented. The knife slowly tilted so that it was pointing directly at Yomi. "I still have to take care of the other four in order to honor the pact I made with that boy, so it looks like I'll need to take care of you rather quickly." Tomo then whipped her arm forward. The knife shook violently, and then plummeted harmlessly onto the ground splattering blood about. "Aargh! Damn it!"

Tomo staggered over until she crashed into some lockers. As soon as her footing was stable, she sunk her nails as deep into her gashes as she could stand. "Yo-Yomi," Tomo choked out in her own voice as tears of pain and terror streamed down her cheeks. "I can't… can't win."

"Tomo! Tomo!" Yomi cried out as she finally found her voice.

Yomi tried to approach her friend, but Tomo immediately recoiled as she shook her head. "No! S-stay away!" she screamed, her voice raw with emotion. "It wants to kill you! It's going to kill you!" she continued to shout. "You have to leave!"

"I'm not going anywhere without you!" Yomi asserted. "I don't know what's going on, but I won't abandon you!"

"You… you have to!" Tomo cried out as she struggled to stay standing. "You promised!... you promised…"

"Tomo…" Yomi hesitated as she looked between Tomo, Nyamo, and the door.

"R…run away!" Tomo shouted. "Now!"

Yomi clenched her jaw as she looked towards the door again. As much as she wanted to run away, she just couldn't bring herself to abandon her friend and ailing teacher. "Tomo… I…"

"Grah!" the demonic voice shouted as a shockwave of wind burst outward from the girl, spraying blood everywhere and knocking Yomi back. "You little whore!" it shouted as Tomo sent Yomi a fierce glare. "Just looking at you stirs that insect!" She angrily held out her wounded arm and the knife again shot into the air. Just like last time, as the knife turned to aim at Yomi, it shook before collapsing to the floor. Tomo looked from Yomi to the knife and back with a look of utter disgust. "Don't think that I'll forget this," it conceded as Tomo slowly walked deliberately backwards. When she met the lockers, her form actually started to pass through them until the girl disappeared completely.

"T-Tomo!" Yomi uselessly called out as she dashed to the spot where Tomo had disappeared. She desperately groped about the lockers. Although they were warm and a bit of Tomo's blood lingered there, the lockers were solid. There was no chance of Yomi being able to follow after her friend. She didn't have time to go looking for Tomo or lament the situation, though.

"Kurosawa-sensei!" she worried as she shelved her panic over Tomo. She dashed to the center of the room and knelt down as she scanned her teacher over. Nyamo was obviously having trouble breathing, but she appeared to still be conscious. She'd been stabbed nearly half a dozen times and had several cuts.

"Are you okay?" Yomi stupidly asked as she panicked. Nyamo's mouth moved a bit, but no sound came. Other than that, the gym teacher didn't have the energy or wherewithal to respond in any way. _Stop the bleeding! Stop the bleeding!_ Yomi's mind raced as she looked around for anything that could help. She rushed to a nearby locker and pulled out a towel. As she did a cellphone tumbled out and onto the ground, catching Yomi's attention. In a flash, Yomi had the cellphone in her hand and was dialing for emergency services.

* * *

><p>Everyone had finished their warm-up and had already settled into just sitting around and chatting. "Where is Sensei?" Kagura complained as she stood and glanced about.<p>

"She went after Tomo, right?" Sakaki replied from a comfortable spot in the shade. "It's been a long time."

"Sensei said she wanted me to take care of things," Kagura fretted as she bit down on her thumbnail. "I don't know what to do, and I don't want to just leave and go look for Sensei."

"Ah think everyone'll be jus' fine without'cha," Osaka offered in a sleepy tone. "Ah don't mind sitting here doing nothin', though."

Kagura growled in frustration. "I'm gonna go check on them. I'm worried."

"Do ya'll think somethin' happened?" Osaka asked. "Tha locker room is separate from tha school, right? So tha ghost can't have gotten in there."

Sakaki paled a bit at the implication. "You don't think…?"

"I'm going!" Kagura announced as she bolted off.

Sakaki and Osaka looked to each other after watching Kagura dash away. "She might die, ya know," Osaka said matter-of-factly as she turned to where Kagura had disappeared.

While Sakaki adopted a rather shocked expression, she didn't have the heart to go running after Kagura.

* * *

><p>Kagura reached the changing room in such a panic that she didn't notice the broken window or the glass shards on the ground. The sudden change in traction caused Kagura to slip on the shards and slam into the door. The damaged door swung open without resistance allowing Kagura to crash painfully to the floor just inside the door. The first thing that Kagura noticed was the pain from the fall. The next thing was that she had fallen into something wet. As she pulled herself up she found the liquid to be a crimson red. <em>Blood? <em>she panicked.

"Kagura! Give me a hand!"

Following Yomi's emotional plea, Kagura found a sight that made her own blood run cold. "Sensei! What happened?" she screamed as she rushed to Nyamo's side.

"Give me a hand, or go get someone who will!" Yomi frantically ordered as she struggled to minimize Nyamo's blood loss.

"You need to keep pressure on the wounds," a female voice echoed from the phone, which was clearly on speakerphone as it sat in a shallow puddle of blood.

"Take over!" Yomi barked as she relinquished her hold on two towels that covered stab wounds on Nyamo's torso. "I'll make a tourniquet!"

The operator on the phone said something, but Kagura was so freaked out that it didn't register to her. She followed Yomi's instruction and pressed the towels only to feel the warm, wet presence of Nyamo's blood. She was also suddenly aware of the teacher's shallow, ragged breathing. "Se-Sensei! Hang on!" Kagura cried as she looked to her teacher's ashen face. She didn't even appear to be conscious any more. "What happened?"

Yomi bit her tongue as she frantically tried to tie a shirt around Nyamo's leg. With the operator on the line, Yomi couldn't very well tell Kagura that Tomo was possessed and had tried to kill Nyamo. "Where is the ambulance?" she found herself yelling.

* * *

><p>As Osaka and Sakaki relaxed in the shade, the taller girl noticed that a lot of the students were gathering. "What's going on?" she wondered aloud as she stood to get a better view.<p>

"Huh?" Osaka puzzled as she too climbed to her feet.

Before they had a chance to speculate, a couple of chirps from a siren caused the crowd to make way revealing a couple of police cars and an ambulance. "Oh no…" Sakaki whispered as the parade passed by. The two girls quickly joined the rest of the students in a crowd following the emergency vehicles. The vehicles came to a stop outside the girls' changing room. While a couple of police officers moved to corral the crowd, the others quickly slipped into the changing room. Osaka had to shove her way to the front to get a view of the action. Sakaki, on the other hand, had no trouble seeing right over everyone. The commotion had even spread to the classrooms as students rushed to the windows.

The policemen that had disappeared into the changing room escorted Yomi and Kagura out as the paramedics raced in. Both girls were covered in blood and visibly shaken. "Are you two all right? Are you injured?" an officer asked as the girls were pulled to the side. Kagura just shook her head as she stared at her shaking, blood-soaked hands through teary eyes. Yomi actually made her way around the corner of the building, hunched over, and purged in the bushes there. "Miss, are you all right?" the policeman repeated in a more urgent tone as Yomi sunk to her knees.

Yomi shook her head as she requested water. The officer motioned to one of his colleagues who brought a bottle of water to the distressed girl. After only a few gulps the brunette staggered back to the front of the building. She slumped up against the wall and slid into a sitting position. The girl sat there in a daze. Yomi just couldn't accept what had happened. Tomo was clearly possessed and Kurosawa-sensei was at death's door. It didn't make sense. _How…?_ the brunette sluggishly thought as she looked to her hands, now soiled with a mixture of blood and dirt.

"Miss! Are you okay now?" the officer forcibly repeated the same question for the third time, finally making himself heard to Yomi.

Yomi just shook her head a little. "I-I'm not injured… but, I'm not okay."

"We have another ambulance on the way," the officer assured the two traumatized girls. "We are going to get you two checked out, all right?"

Neither of them heard a word the police officer said. As he started talking, the paramedics exited the girl's changing room with Nyamo on a stretcher. The bottle of water slipped from Yomi's limp grasp as she stood. Her heart sunk as she watched the paramedics load the stricken woman onto the ambulance. The brunette was so transfixed on the scene that she didn't even notice that the police had to hold Kagura back to prevent her from trying to approach their teacher. She also failed to hear Kagura's heated protests. The only thing present to the numb girl was the sight in front of her and the one thought that tormented her. _Kurosawa-sensei… isn't going to make it._

Only after the ambulance drove off did Yomi come out of her trance. She realized that a policeman had a hold of her arm in order to hold her back. The officer let her go only once she stepped back towards the wall behind her. Yomi flopped down and leaned against the wall. She idly glanced over to see Kagura a couple of meters away also sitting against the wall. Only Kagura was hugging her knees and crying. Yomi felt no empathy towards the girl. With Nyamo speeding away in an ambulance, there was only one concern left on Yomi's mind. _Tomo…_ Following her concerns, Yomi stood and realized that more police were showing up. She growled as she turned to the nearest policeman, "We… we aren't free to leave, are we?"

"No," a new arrival bluntly informed her. Yomi looked up to see a wiry woman in a suit approaching. She stood about as tall as Yomi with a haircut not unlike Kagura's, although her ebony mane was wrangled neatly into place. Narrow green eyes and a slight but noticeable scar across the bridge of her nose granted the woman an intimidating presence. "I am Detective Akiyama Midori," she announced as she held up a badge, "and you two need to answer some questions for us." Midori put her badge away as she glanced between the two girls. "It looks like your classmate needs some time to calm down, so would you mind coming with me?"

"Th-there isn't any time for this!" Yomi claimed in an uncharacteristically single-minded fashion. "A girl is missing! Her name is Takino Tomo! She could be in danger!"

Midori raised an eyebrow as she produced a notepad, flipped it open, and scribbled in it. "Did you see someone abduct this Takino Tomo?" she inquired as she carefully gauged Yomi.

Someone, or rather something, did take off with Tomo. Although it wasn't as if Yomi could just tell the detective that her friend was possessed. "N-no," Yomi lied with a shake of her head. "But she's missing! You need to find her!"

"There are more pressing matters at hand. I'm sure that your friend will turn up," the woman claimed as she finished scribbling in the notepad and put it away. "I really need you to come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Yomi challenged. "I'll find Tomo on my own!"

Midori roughly grabbed Yomi's arm and threw her against the wall to prevent her from storming off. "You can come with me willingly, or I can arrest you. It's your choice," she pointedly informed Yomi in a threatening tone. "Don't make me arrest you."

"Tomo is in danger!" Yomi continued to protest.

"She 'is in danger,' not 'she could be in danger'?" the detective asked. "Do you know something we don't? Are you withholding information?"

_She's dangerous!_ Yomi realized as she bit her lip and looked away, unable to cover her tracks.

Midori sighed at the response as she moved her grip to Yomi's shoulder and forced her to turn around and face the wall. "You're under arrest," she told Yomi as she snapped a pair of handcuffs on the girl. Yomi didn't struggle and kept her mouth shut as Midori pulled her over to an unmarked vehicle. "I don't think you are necessarily a bad person," she coaxed, "but if you know something, you _have_ to tell us." Yomi continued her damning silence. The detective sighed again as she opened the door to the backseat of her car. Just as she was about to push Yomi in, a loud crash got everyone's attention.

Yomi and Midori peered around the car just in time to see a body hit the ground. Through the panic and screaming, Midori managed to piece together that the person lying motionless on the ground was "Yuakri-sensei" and that she had crashed through the third story windows. Looking up to the third floor she found something that wasn't just bizarre, it was _impossible_. The glass and metal shards from the broken windows were floating and twisting in midair.

"No!" Yomi screamed at the top of her lungs just as the debris lined up so that all of the glass and metal were pointed edge-first at Yukari's prone form. "Don't do it!" she begged just as the shards shot downwards and into the motionless woman, skewering her countless times.

Paramedics got to Yukari in a flash. After looking her over for a few moments, one of them looked to Midori and shook his head. Midori wasted no time in shoving the completely stunned Yomi into the car and slamming the door shut. "We need this school on lockdown, now! " she ordered as she approached a few other officers. "Someone call for backup! There is a murderer somewhere on this campus! Call the principal so we can get the students to safety! We need men up there, right now!..."

Yomi had never felt so helpless in her entire life as she sat handcuffed in the detective's car. With little other recourse, the brunette began to weep as she finally let the reality of the situation wash over her. _What have we done?_ she lamented. _Tomo…_


	6. Aftermath

Yomi sat alone in a small room dressed in a pair of sweats and an old T-shirt. The exhausted girl was slumped over the table in front of her completely drained. She had been answering questions for the police for hours on end. By switching between treating her like a suspect, a witness, and a victim, they had successfully rattled her wits. But Yomi managed to keep one thing in mind: it wasn't Tomo's fault. No matter what, she wouldn't so much as hint at Tomo's involvement.

An audible click drew Yomi's attention to the interrogation room's only door. "Miss Mizuhara," Midori coolly greeted as she walked in with a thick file folder under her arm. "I have some good news and some bad news for you," she announced as she sat across from the bespectacled girl. "In spite of your lack of cooperation, we have gathered enough evidence to rule you out completely as a suspect. We don't have anything else to hold you on," she informed Yomi as she disassembled the tape recorder on the table. "You are free to go."

Yomi eyed Midori critically. She seemed sincere, but Yomi had quickly learned not to let guard down in front of the detective. "That's it?"

"Well, there is the bad news," Midori reminded Yomi. "This doesn't leave this room, but Kurosawa Minamo has passed away."

The detective watched as Yomi's head drooped and her hands clenched. "Wh-why… why are you telling me this?" Yomi drew out in a carefully measured tone.

"Because I don't think you realize the gravity of the situation!" Midori snapped. "Five people are dead and six are missing! You know something about it and all you want to do is play games!" Midori ground her teeth at Yomi's lack of a response. "When we catch this bastard, I'm going to be sure to string you up alongside him. And if he kills anyone else, that means you get to look forward to a small cell for a very, very long time." Having said her two cents, Midori got up and started towards the door. "I'll escort you to the lobby," she stated with a cold indifference. "Your parents are waiting." Yomi sluggishly got to her feet and wordlessly followed Midori. A few corridors later the duo ended up in the lobby where Yomi's parents excitedly greeted her.

"Maybe you two can talk some sense into your daughter," Midori spat, interrupting the reunion. "Your daughter knows something. If… when we find proof of that she will be prosecuted unless she decides to talk to us first."

"K-Koyomi, if you know something then just tell them!"

"I've already told you everything," Yomi lied as she sent Midori a fierce glare. "You're just grasping at straws."

Midori scoffed at the notion. "No, I have my fingers wrapped around something tangible," the detective countered. "It's only a matter of time until I figure out just what it is."

"It's nothing," Yomi bluffed.

"You are protecting someone," Midori confessed her hunch. "We will find him sooner or later. Are you really willing to throw your life away just to buy this monster more time?"

"I don't know what you are talking about," Yomi feigned ignorance. "I'm starving and tired and I want to go home. You said I'm free to go, right?"

"You are making the mistake of your life," Midori warned before turning on her heel and leaving.

"Koyomi, are you sure you don't know anything? Not even a hunch?" Yomi's father urged as the trio started for the exit.

"I told them everything," Yomi lied again.

* * *

><p>In a large library, a certain bespectacled girl could be found at a computer station. Yomi sighed as she leaned back in a chair. Thanks to her overstressed eyes, the computer screen in front of her had become little more than a fuzzy blob. The brunette groaned as she removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. After relaxing a moment she replaced her glasses and looked to the screen's clock. It read 08:07.<p>

_I'm at my limit_, Yomi surrendered as she staggered to her feet. Not only had she just spent the entire night trying to find something to save Tomo, but she didn't get much sleep the night before thanks to Tomo freaking out. _Why didn't I notice it?_ Yomi mentally kicked herself as she grabbed her things and headed for the exit. _Just when she needed me the most… how could I have been so stupid?_

The brunette couldn't allow herself to go home and rest empty-handed. She had to do something. As much as she wanted to keep the dark secret to herself, Yomi realized that she would have to have some help in order to save Tomo. So instead of heading home, Yomi headed towards Chiyo's mansion.

Several minutes later, Yomi wearily approached Chiyo's front gate. She aimlessly slapped the button on the intercom as she tried to bring the small screen into focus.

"Hello!" Chiyo blindly greeted as the screen flickered to life. "Ah! Yomi!"

"Hey, can I come in?" she choked out as she tried in vain to summon a smile. "It's really important."

"S-sure!" Chiyo replied as the front gate opened. By the time that Yomi had gotten to the door, the little redhead was already there and waiting for her. "Are you okay?" she worried as Yomi struggled to change her shoes.

"You… you look pretty bad yourself," Yomi noted as she took in the bandages covering Chiyo's arms, legs, and eye.

"It still hurts, but I'm okay," Chiyo rushed through the platitude of greetings. "More importantly, are you all right? The news said that something horrible happened at the school yesterday. I haven't been able to get in touch with anyone. I'm worried."

Yomi visibly flinched at Chiyo's words. "Let's… let's go talk in your room," she struggled as she tried to think through the fog of exhaustion. "Things are… bad."

By the time the two girls had gotten to Chiyo's room, the small genius's worries had mounted to intolerable levels. While the curiosity and trepidation of not knowing had the small girl all worked up, she suddenly found herself not wanting to know due to Yomi's grave response. "C-can I get you anything?" Chiyo procrastinated as Yomi flopped down at the large low table. "Coffee? Tea?"

"Coffee," Yomi eagerly joined in on the procrastination. The brunette hadn't imagined that Chiyo was so in the dark about the situation. Breaking the news to the little girl was a task that Yomi did not look forward to. "Cream and sugar," she added, not in the least bit concerned with herself.

"I'll be right back," Chiyo thoughtlessly recited the common phrase as she headed for the door. "Make yourself at home." A few minutes later the little genius returned with a tray. "I'm back," she morosely announced as she entered the room. Chiyo felt a panic rise in her as she spied Yomi slumped over the table. Realizing that Yomi had merely fallen asleep, she was able to squelch that panic as she stumbled over and placed the tray down before reaching out for Yomi's arm. "Excuse me," she apologized as she gently shook the older girl's arm in an effort to awaken her.

Yomi abruptly snapped up at Chiyo's touch. It took a second or two for the brunette to realize where she was and what was going on. "S-sorry," Yomi mumbled as she reached under her glasses to rub her eyes. "I must've fallen asleep."

"You look terrible," Chiyo observed as she handed Yomi her coffee.

"I haven't slept," Yomi reminded Chiyo. "I've pushed myself to the limit… and I don't have anything to show for it."

"I see," Chiyo tentatively replied as she took her own beverage and brought it to her lips. "S-so… what happened? At school I mean."

Yomi sighed at the inquiry as she put her cup down. "Well, what do you know so far?"

"All I know is what I have heard from the news," Chiyo recounted. "They said that-that three students and a teacher were murdered. They also said that the school would be closed until the police finished their investigation. That's all that I've been able to figure out."

Yomi shook her head before dropping her gaze down to her idle cup of coffee. "The police must be withholding a lot from the media," she mumbled as she absentmindedly slid the cup's handle back and forth. "The truth is... the truth is that five people are dead… six are still missing. Four students died… and-and two teachers. A nurse and five students are missing… Tomo is-Tomo is missing," Yomi revealed as she chanced a peek at Chiyo. "I don't know who the… the dead students are, but I think it's safe to say that they weren't from our class," she sighed as she pushed the trepidation aside. "B-but the teachers…" she started, but could not finish.

Chiyo whimpered at the implication as tears welled up in her eyes. "Do… do you mean that… Yukari-sensei or Kurosawa-sensei…?"

Chiyo's pathetic look made Yomi's chest tighten as she found it hard to breathe. "They-both… Yukari and Kurosawa-sensei… they… they're gone," she tactlessly choked out. "I-I'm sorry."

"That can't be true!" Chiyo squeaked as her tears broke free. "I-I can't believe it."

As the little girl hunched over and cried, Yomi got up and approached her. "I-I'm so sorry," Yomi apologized and put a hand on Chiyo's shoulder.

Chiyo desperately latched onto Yomi. "Yukari-sensei… Kurosawa-sensei… please… please tell me that it isn't true!" she begged as she cried.

The brunette carefully returned Chiyo's embrace as she shook her head. "I'm sorry!" Yomi apologized as she too began to cry. "They're gone… they're dead and it's all our fault. It's my fault! I'm so sorry!"

* * *

><p>"So, this is Miss Yukari's classroom," Midori stated the obvious as she looked about the ordinary looking room.<p>

"Y-yes," the principal replied, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

"You have the seating chart?" Midori asked. "Where is Mizuhara's seat?"

The principal hastily opened a folder and scanned over the contents. "It-it's that one. Second row, five seats back," he announced as he pointed to Yomi's desk. "You-you know, Mizuhara is one of our best students. I-I really find it hard to believe that should could do something this horrible. I can't believe anyone at this school could."

"Mizuhara has been cleared as a suspect in Kurosawa Minamo's… assault," Midori clarified as she put on a pair of latex gloves and approached Yomi's desk. "She was never a suspect in any of the other incidents here."

"Th-then why are you so interested in her?"

"I believe that Mizuhara knows more about what happened here than the entire police department at this point," Midori revealed as she carefully searched the desk for anything useful. "She is protecting someone. I don't suppose you would be savvy as to who she was close to?"

"I'm afraid that the students would have more insight about that than me."

Midori sighed. Both disappointed in the response and the fact that the only things in Yomi's desk were school books. Not even a notebook. "I really need to find out what she is hiding," Midori admitted as she eyed Yomi's bag. The detective carefully bent over and meticulously opened Yomi's bag. "Oh, what have we here?" she remarked as a certain leather-bound tome immediately caught her eye. Midori gingerly removed the book from the bag and set it down on Yomi's desk. "Not a standard textbook, I presume," she suggested as she carefully opened the book.

The principal shook his head. "I have never seen a book quite like that one."

Midori spent a few minutes scanning over the tome's pages before speaking again, "tell me, does 'The Scarlet Society' mean anything to you?"

"No," the principal denied. "Should it?"

"Well," Midori started as she lifted the book and cradled it in her arm before turning back a few pages. "According to this, the Scarlet Society is a secret club here in this school."

"Preposterous," the principal scoffed. "There is no such club."

"Let's find out," Midori confidently suggested as she started to exit the room. "We should be able to get to the library without tramping through any of the cordoned off areas."

"Why are we here?" The principal demanded as he entered the library on Midori's heels. "I already told you that the only club here is the library club. How is some fictional club supposed to help the investigation anyway?"

The detective didn't falter as she made her way towards a secluded corner of the library. "If that Mizuhara girl is involved then it is important," Midori countered as she came to a halt in front of a certain bookshelf. "It should be here," the detective concluded as she crouched down.

"There isn't anything…" the principal started, but was cut off by an audible _click_ as the secret door swung into the wall, "…here."

Midori audibly chuckled. "In all my years as a detective, I have never actually seen a hidden bookcase corridor," she bemusedly noted as she cautiously entered the secret passage. "Someone left the lights on," the detective observed. "I somehow doubt that they've been on for twenty years."

"This-this is…" the principal stammered. "This has been here this whole time?"

"Tread lightly and don't touch anything," Midori warned as she led the way down to the damaged door. "Isn't this interesting?" she spoke her thoughts as she observed the intact lock and broken hinges. Midori took a mental note of the odd scene, not yet certain what to make of it. "Come on," she urged as she swung the door to the side in order to make enough room for the two of them to pass through.

"How did I not know of any of this?"

"According to this book, the only faculty member with any knowledge of this club was the original principal," Midori explained as she turned on the lights. While the principal just stared blankly at the extravagant room, Midori's trained eye was drawn to the ajar closet door with planks of wood and torn shreds of paper strewn in front of it. The detective stooped down near the mess and immediately recognized the shredded paper. "Spirit wards?"

For some reason that she could not identify, Midori suddenly felt very anxious. She placed the book on the ground as she grabbed her pistol from its holster. Midori gripped the weapon with both hands and took aim at the closet. "Is someone there?" she barked as she slowly approached the ominous door. The detective cautiously swung the door open and took a step back. While it was difficult to see through the darkness, it was clear that there was no one in the closet. Confused, she approached the closet for a closer look. Still nothing. "Did-did you sense something just now?" she asked as she turned to the rather alarmed principal.

The principal shook his head as he kept his eyes locked on Midori's pistol. "N-no."

Midori sighed as she holstered her pistol. "My mind must be playing tricks on me," she dismissed as she turned her attention back to the closet. "It's been pretty rough since this mess started." Her train of thought derailed as she found the closet's light. With the proper illumination it only took Midori a moment to make out the shape of a human in the untouched dust. She instantly realized that a corpse must've been there. _No drag marks? No foot prints?_ the detective puzzled, completely unsure what to make of the bizarre sight.

"All right, I'm going to have a couple of analysts go over this room," she announced as she backed away from the closet. "Let's leave before we mar the scene any more than we already have."

"You don't have to tell me twice," the principal claimed as he followed after the detective. "That room… there is something ominous about that room."

After releasing the principal and sending in investigators to go over the secret clubroom, Midori sat down to comb through the club's book to glean any useful information contained within its pages. After reading through the entire introduction and the simple set of rules, she found a simple pattern. That year's club would sign their names and after that they would catalogue any major events. Then the next year would sign.

Midori deduced that whatever she was looking for would be in the most recent entries, so she lifted the pages and let them flip by until she reached the blank pages near the back of the book. She then turned back a few pages to find the book's final entry. What she found was something more enticing than she could have hoped for. The pages in front of her showed six names that were signed only three days ago. What was even better was that her favorite suspect was signed as the president while one of the missing persons was the vice-president. Midori carefully copied the text into her notepad as she contemplated the implications. This list gave the detective three new names to investigate and she would need to ask Kagura a few more questions, as well. She couldn't wait to grill the girls on the mysterious scene in the clubroom and on the horrible events that had just occurred yesterday. _Too bad they didn't record anything,_ she lamented as she noted that the pages beyond were blank.

Seeking more answers, Midori halfheartedly turned back to the year before. The detective instantly shot up with more than enough vigor to send the chair she had been sitting in clattering to the floor. _This! This is…!_ The nearly decade's old and unfinished list of names instantly triggered recognition for Midori. Every single name on the list had come up in the past twenty-four hours as a corpse or missing person. Kurosawa "Nyamo" Minamo as president and Tanizaki Yukari as vice-president reflected the two teachers murdered on campus the previous afternoon. Another woman on the list was found dead in a nearby office building by the cleaning staff in the wee hours of the night. Even more alarming was the last name on the list. It belonged to a man whose house was found in complete disarray earlier in the morning. He and his entire family were missing. They were presumed kidnapped or dead.

Reasonably alarmed, the detective flipped back a few pages to find the previous list. Although the list showed Yukari and Nyamo again, it didn't have any other names that raised any alarms. A quick read of that year's entries also failed to show anything out of the ordinary.

Having decided that she had enough to go on already, Midori quickly copied the names of the entries featuring the slain teachers before closing the book. She needed to enter the book into evidence before anything. After that she had quite a few names to look into. _I'll find out what that Mizuhara's been hiding one way or another!_

* * *

><p>"…What-what can we do? How do we save her?" Yomi pleaded with Chiyo after relaying to the little girl a watered down version of what had happened.<p>

Chiyo just shook her head. "I-I really don't know," she whimpered. Yomi responded by cursing as she pounded her fists onto the table, causing Chiyo to flinch. "I'm really sorry!" the little redhead quickly apologized as tears fell anew. "I want to help Tomo, too, but I really don't know how."

"N-no," Yomi refuted as she tried to keep her own emotions in check, "it's not your fault. It's mine. I-I let her open that door. I practically encouraged her to do it!"

"D-don't cry!" Chiyo urged as Yomi buried her face in her hands.

"I'm such… such an idiot. This-this is all my fault. I let her… I let her do it. I-I let Tomo open Pandora's box."

"Then-then we still have hope," Chiyo assured. "That's what's left after opening Pandora's box. Hope."

Yomi just shook her head as she removed her hands to reveal tear-soaked cheeks. "Wh-where? Where can I find hope? Where can I turn? You… you were my last hope. N-no one else will believe any of this. We can't waste… any more time either. Right now… right now that-that monster is probably hurting more people. It's only a matter of time until… until…" Yomi trailed off as she tried in vain to wipe her tears away.

"There must be something we can do," Chiyo gently urged.

"There isn't anyone else I can turn to!"

"Wh-what about Sakaki? There's Osaka and Kagura, too," Chiyo offered. "It might be… farfetched, but we have to at least try, right?"

"Y-yeah," Yomi reluctantly agreed as she feebly tried to get herself together. "J-just tell them to come here. I'll… I will break the news to them."

"R-right," Chiyo agreed as she got up. "I'll go call them."

Yomi let out a sigh of exhaustion as she collapsed forward onto the table. "Tomo…"

Not long after hearing Chiyo close the door, Yomi heard it open again. A hand on her shoulder beckoned her to look up. As she peered over her shoulder, Yomi found something that she feared she'd never get to see again: Tomo's smiling face. "T-Tomo?"

"I really missed you," Tomo sweetly whispered as she knelt down and wrapped her arms around Yomi. "I'm so sorry," Tomo apologized as she nuzzled Yomi's neck.

"I-I don't… understand," Yomi choked out as her addled mind struggled to catch up.

"I regret that we never did something like this," Tomo cooed as she gently cupped Yomi's cheek with her hand. She allowed her fingers to trace across Yomi's face until her fingertips were gingerly resting on Yomi's lips. "Especially now…" Tomo continued as she brought her face towards Yomi's.

Yomi closed her eyes as she tentatively leaned towards Tomo's face. Then sensation she was rewarded with was far from what she had expected. Yomi's eyes shot open as she felt an impact and an immense pressure on her chest. She found Tomo standing a couple of meters away with an arm outstretched towards Yomi. A quick glance down revealed that the table was pinning her to the wall. "To-Tomo," Yomi struggled.

"Especially now that we'll never have that chance again," Tomo finished as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I-I can't stop it!"

"Fight it!" Yomi shouted. "You have to fight it!"

Tomo shook her head. "I can't… it's… no use," she claimed. "Please… save me."

Yomi struggled to speak, but couldn't as the table pressed ever harder into her sternum.

Tomo's crying face quickly morphed into a sinister look, complete with a twisted smile. "The girl is mine," a demonic voice called out from Tomo's throat. "This girl is useful to me, but you… you are nothing more than a thorn in my side. I'll rather enjoy being rid of you," she taunted as the table's pressure redoubled. "Die, bitch!"

The table pressed so fiercely that Yomi's trapped forearm snapped. Yomi drew a sharp breath as she looked down to her arm to find a tiny hand there. As she struggled to catch her breath she glanced around to find Sakaki, Osaka, and Chiyo.

"You fell asleep again," Chiyo informed the panicked and confused girl as she withdrew her hand. "I didn't want to wake you up, but it looked like you were having a nightmare," she explained before motioning to Osaka and Sakaki. "Sakaki and Osaka are already here. I couldn't get a hold of Kagura."

Yomi struggled to grasp everything as she tried her best to calm down. "Just… just give me a minute," she requested as she rubbed her face.

"Ah thought y'all was in jail," Osaka spoke up. "Ah was real surprised when Chiyo said 'at y'all was here. Ya didn't break out did ya?"

"No," Yomi dismissed. "They let me go… said that they didn't have enough to hold me."

"You didn't do anything wrong, right?" Sakaki queried.

Yomi shook her head. "I didn't hurt anyone, but… but I lied to the police. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"You know what happened," Sakaki accused.

"Yeah," Yomi affirmed with a nod, "but first I want you to promise you won't tell anyone. No matter what," she somberly demanded. "Swear it."

Sakaki and Osaka's gazes met across the table before they looked back to Yomi. "I promise," they agreed in unison.

"I don't know everything, but," Yomi started before letting out a ragged sigh. "Yesterday I-I went to the changing room. I was worried… about Tomo, about Kurosawa-sensei. When I got there, there was broken glass and the door was busted. I knew-I knew that something was really wrong, but… but…" Yomi trailed off.

"Wh-what happened?" Osaka eagerly asked.

Yomi sighed again before continuing in a distant tone. "There was… blood everywhere and Ku-Kurosawa-sensei. She was already… she was just lying there on the floor. She was… covered in blood," she recalled as she struggled to keep the raw emotions reigned in. "T-Tomo was there standing over her… over Kurosawa-sensei. But it… it wasn't Tomo. Her arm… was mangled and bleeding but… but she w-was smiling. Her voice wa-was… it was a monster's voice. It was that-that thing from the clubroom! It was controlling her… it-it still is…"

"Y-you're saying that Tomo…" Sakaki surmised.

"No!" Yomi instantly and vehemently refused. "It's that fucking thing that tried to kill us! Tomo's possessed! It's not her fault!"

Sakaki shrank at the undue tongue-lashing. "Sorry."

"We-we have to save Tomo somehow," Yomi pleaded. "I don't know what to do… where to turn. Tomo is in danger, too. She's hurt and that thing is just going… it's not going to stop hurting people. If the police find out—they'll never believe that she's possessed. At this rate Tomo will either get shot or… or the noose. I have to save Tomo somehow… I have to."

"Then we have ta get her exorcised, right?" Osaka asked.

"There isn't anyone," Yomi denied. "There's no way to tell if someone really can exorcise her or if they're a fraud. If they are a fraud then the police… I can't take that chance," she argued. "Not to mention… she disappeared. I don't know how to find Tomo."

"I… might know someone who can help," Sakaki volunteered, "but I can't get a hold of her without my bag. She can probably find Tomo, too."

"An exorcist?" Yomi asked.

Sakaki shook her head. "Not really."

"Would-would she call the police?"

"Never," Sakaki confidently asserted.

Yomi nodded in approval. "Contact her… please."

"But my bag is at school," Sakaki pointed out. "I can't get in contact with her without my bag."

"Maybe the police will return it if you go ask them," Chiyo suggested. "Explain to them that it is very important."

Sakaki considered it a moment before nodding. "I'll go try," she volunteered as she got up.

"Ah have someone ah can call, too," Osaka offered. "Mah cousin's in some kinda ghost club ah some sort. They do exorcisms, ah think."

"Can… can they be trusted not to go to the police?" Yomi asked.

Osaka shrugged. "Ah don't know. Ya want me ta call 'em?"

"D-don't tell them that anyone has been hurt. I'll try anything, but you can't let them know anything they can take to the police," Yomi relented.

"Can ah use yer phone, Chiyo?" Osaka requested.

"Of course," Chiyo allowed as Osaka got up to go make the phone call. As soon as Osaka left Chiyo turned back to Yomi. "S-see? There is still hope."

Yomi sighed. "I just … I want Tomo to be okay," she prayed as she slumped over the table again.

Chiyo was at a loss for words. As much as she wanted to assure Yomi that everything would be okay, she couldn't even convince herself. "I-I really hope so."

"Can I stay here?" Yomi requested as she pulled herself up to look at Chiyo. "I-I am completely spent."

"Sure," Chiyo agreed as she got up. "I'll get you a futon."

"Thanks."


	7. Rally

__A/N: This chapter is pretty boring and does little more than introduce the majority of the rest of the cast. Things will get interesting again next chapter. It should be ready soon.

* * *

><p><em>Finally!<em> Sakaki thought as the school's imposing gates finally came into view. The trek from Chiyo's mansion proved to be far more frightening than the tall girl had imagined. Just the thought of that apparition being out and on the loose sent chills down the tall girl's spine. As Sakaki approached the locked gates she was halted by an officer on the other side.

"Sorry miss, the school is closed," the policeman politely informed her. "There was an incident here yesterday and we are still investigating it."

"I know, I was here yesterday," Sakaki volunteered.

"My condolences," the officer offered his sympathies. "But like I said, the school is closed. You should just head on home and take it easy, alright?"

Sakaki shook her head. "I left my bag inside. It's important."

"I'm really sorry, but you will have to wait until the school is reopened to reclaim your things," the officer asserted.

"I really need that bag," the tall girl persisted.

"I'm afraid that I'll have to ask you to leave," the policeman announced as his patience shrank and suspicions grew.

"Why not give her a break?" a voice drew their attention to a rapidly approaching woman in a suit. She sported a smug smile as she placed a hand on the policeman's shoulder. "I'll talk to Miss Sakaki. You can go retrieve her bag. Where did you leave it, Miss Sakaki?"

"It should be in class 2-3. It has a little silver bell keychain on it," Sakaki absentmindedly described the bag as she kept her gaze locked on the familiar-looking green-eyed woman. "How did you know my name?"

As the officer went to retrieve the bag, Midori retrieved a handful of laminated cards and flipped through them. "I am detective Akiyami Midori, and you are… right here," she stated as she held up one of the cards for Sakaki. It was a copy of her student ID card. "You and your friends are a difficult bunch to get a hold of."

"What are you talking about?"

"I suppose 'friends' may be a bit presumptuous of me," Midori relented. "Perhaps I should have said: Your fellow club members."

"I don't belong to any clubs," Sakaki instantly refuted.

"Oh?" Midori smirked. "I have your signature in a book that says otherwise. Mizuhara Koyomi, Takino Tomo, Kasuga Ayumu, Chiyo Mihama, Kagura, and you all became members of one 'Scarlet Society' three days ago," the detective recited in hopes of intimidating Sakaki. "So how about you cut the crap and tell me what I want to know."

"Nobody was supposed to know anything about that," Sakaki calmly claimed as she stared the detective down.

"This isn't some game!" Midori growled. "People are dead! They are still dying!" she snapped at Sakaki. "Tell me what's going on!"

"What do you want from me?" Sakaki replied. "It looks like you already know everything."

_Are all of these kids resistant to interrogation?_ Midori wondered as she tried to think of something to say that might break the tall girl's impeccable poker face. She decided to bank on a gamble and show all of her cards at once. "Tell me; just what the hell was in that closet?"

Even Sakaki was unable to hide her surprise at the question. "W-what?" she stumbled.

"What was there?" the detective pressed. "What is it that you are hiding?"

"It was… an evil spirit," Sakaki reluctantly revealed. "I don't know why it was there."

"An evil spirit?" Midori derisively spat. "I don't have time for games, Miss Sakaki. Stop screwing around and tell me the truth! There was a body there, right? What happened to it?"

Sakaki shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted.

Midori growled at the simple response. _I would be easier to get answers out of a trained spy!_ she mentally fumed. "Let's try this a different way," the detective ground out through grit teeth. "People are dying, Miss Sakaki. I need you to tell me anything useful you might know. Anything at all. Please."

The new approach seemed to deliver a blow to the tall girl. "It-it's…" she hesitated before shifting her gaze slightly away from Midori.

Midori followed Sakaki's gaze over her own shoulder to find a rather displeasing sight. "Hey," the officer from before greeted as he jogged up to the gate with a bag in his hand. "Is this the right one?"

"Yes," Sakaki confirmed as she locked her eyes on the bag.

Midori intercepted the prized object as the policeman started to pass it through the gate's bars. "Not so fast," she taunted as she held out the bag. "You will get this only _after_ you tell me what I want to know."

"It's mine," Sakaki defied the detective. "Give it back."

"Everything on this side of the gate is a crime scene," Midori taunted as she held out the bag. "I have no obligation to return it. If you want it back, then tell me what's going on."

Sakaki impulsively lunged towards the gate and reached her arm through as she desperately grasped at her bag. Midori was quick to pull the bag out of Sakaki's reach, but failed to realize that the tall girl's aim wasn't for the bag itself. Sakaki managed to wrap her fingers around the small silver bell keychain attached to the bag. With Sakaki and Midori pulling in opposite directions, the feeble string attaching the bell to the key ring snapped. The tall girl stumbled back away from the gate and opened her hand to reveal her prize. Sakaki couldn't help but to smile a bit as an echo of a bell reached her ears. Bell in hand, Sakaki quickly decided not to stick around for more questioning and sprinted away.

Midori stood dumbfounded for a split second before dropping the bag and scrambling for the gate's control. "Come back here!" she shouted in vain as the motor strained to pull the gate open. As soon as the gate had opened wide enough for Midori to slip through, she dashed out and looked to the direction in which Sakaki ran. There was no sign of the tall girl or where she had disappeared to. "Damn it all," she cursed as she retreated back to the schoolyard.

"Should we go after her?" the policeman asked.

Midori shook her head. "She's not breaking any laws," she grumbled as she kicked herself. "I should have just taken her in for questioning."

"You think she had something to do with this mess?"

"She knows something. That much is certain," she affirmed as she turned her gaze to the abandoned bag. "She wasn't willing to leave without it. Was the keychain her target all along? That look she had after she ripped it off—it was almost… triumphant," Midori mused before turning back to the uniformed officer. "Did you notice anything special about that keychain?"

The policeman shook his head. "It was just a little bell," he recalled. "It didn't even ring."

Midori sighed as she puzzled the bizarre development. The deeper she dug the more confused she got. "Just what the hell is going on?"

"There you are!" a woman in a police uniform exclaimed as she ran up to Midori. "The chief is going to hold a press conference at noon. He wants everyone for briefing. He asked for you specifically."

Midori resigned with a groan. "All right," she grumbled. "Put that back wherever you found it," she instructed the policeman as she motioned to the bag.

* * *

><p>Two girls and two boys stood together on a sparsely populated train destined for Tokyo. With the exception of the tallest boy, they all wore a school uniform. The tallest boy sported a casual suit. He had short, black hair that was professionally groomed. His brown eyes peered through a pair of glasses at a cell phone in hand. Had he not been standing in the middle of a group of high school students, he could have easily been mistaken for a businessman.<p>

Next to him was a diminutive boy that stood just short of the taller of the two girls. He was fidgeting around impatiently sporting a somewhat irate look that was only enhanced by his narrow, piercing eyes. His black, spiked hair had a hint of green and it frayed out wildly. "Something about this stinks. I don't like it," he complained.

"I take it as a boon if you are uneasy, Jack," the taller boy replied without ever taking his eyes off of his phone. "You have impeccable instincts. If you're anxious then there's a good chance that we aren't wasting our time doing this injudicious favor for Haruka."

"We cain't possibly waste our time on this job," the girl identified as Haruka interjected. Easily the shortest of the group, she looked startlingly similar to Osaka. "They've already agreed ta pay fer our services even if tha case turns out ta be somethin' that ain't supernatural."

"You might want to watch that tongue of yours," the taller boy scolded. "That accent of yours might be acceptable in Osaka, but you will look a fool in Tokyo."

"What about tha way y'all talk, Reiji?" Haruka complained. "Y'all always sound condescendin' and yer pretty rude, too. Besides, all y'all really care about is whether er not you get ta see somethin' in'er'stin'."

"I'm with Reiji," Jack stated. "I don't care about the money. If there's nothing for me to exterminate then I'd just as well be sleeping through class."

"Is this really okay?" the other girl finally spoke up as she adjusted her thick glasses. She was a bookish looking brunette with her hair in a single braid running down to the middle of her back. "We shouldn't be skipping school."

"Et tu, Eimi?" Haruka whimpered. "We go an' exorcise tha girl an' then we get ta spend tha next couple ah days on vacation in Tokyo! It's a win-win!"

"The only win is if this girl really is possessed," Jack claimed.

"That's a terrible thing to say," Eimi chided. "Possession is a horrible thing for a person to have to go through. It's not exactly a pleasant experience for the spirit, either."

"Mah cousin says that there ain't a chance 'at tha girl ain't possessed," Haruka claimed. "We're already on our way there anyways, so there ain't no use worryin' about it now."

* * *

><p>Sakaki stopped to catch her breath in an alleyway. She had been dashing about fairly aimlessly for the better part of an hour. "Where are you?" the tall girl asked as she unclenched her hand and looked to the silver bell. As the object rolled in her hand it let out a warm chime, eliciting Sakaki to look around.<p>

"You seem to be quite distressed, girl," a disembodied, feminine voice echoed.

"It's an emergency!" Sakaki pleaded as she continued to glance about. "We need your help!"

"We?"

"My friends," Sakaki hastily explained. "Please, we really can't do this without your help."

"I have seen more situations resolved than I can recall—many of them quite dire. I have confidence in you, girl," the voice encouraged.

Sakaki finally managed to spy a black cat with a bell identical to her own secured around its neck with a sleek red ribbon. It was perched on a windowsill that Sakaki was certain that a moment ago was vacant. The tall girl shook her head after locking eyes with the creature. "It's no use. We… released an evil spirit. It tried to kill us. It's still hurting people."

The cat stood as its fur quivered in anger. "It attacked you?" the black cat spoke in an irate manner.

Sakaki nodded as a hand absentmindedly moved touched the gauze covering the stitches in her forehead. "We barely managed to escape. Fighting something like that… It's impossible for us."

"You have my ear, girl. I shall hear you out," the cat offered as it leapt to the ground and plodded toward Sakaki.

"Thank you, Rin," Sakaki appreciated as she knelt down to pet the endearing monster.

* * *

><p>"Holy… crap."<p>

"It's huge!"

"I-is this the right address?"

"This is the quoted address," Reiji disdainfully asserted as the group stood in front of Chiyo's house. "Eimi, can you sense anything supernatural?"

Eimi shook her head. "Nothing. Although that doesn't mean that there isn't anything here, you know."

"Peachy," he sarcastically lamented. "Let's get this farce over with," he impatiently complained as he hit the button on the intercom.

"Hello!" A smiling, albeit bandaged little girl appeared on the screen.

"We are here—"

"Hey!" Haruka interrupted Reiji as she pushed him aside. "We're here ta deliver y'all from evil!"

"You… are Osaka's cousin?" Chiyo assumed with a puzzled look. "We've been waiting for you. Come on in."

The screen went dark as soon as Chiyo finished her statement, leaving Haruka thoroughly confused. "Y'all're sure this's tha right place?"

"You are the one that provided the address," Reiji reminded Haruka as he and the rest of the group headed for the opening gate.

"But ah ain't got a cousin named Osaka. What tha hell kinda name is that anyways?" Haruka complained to herself before trudging after everyone else. "Maybe she meant ta say tha cousin from Osaka."

"Welcome. We're glad that you're finally here," Chiyo politely greeted the group in person as soon as they walked through the extravagant doors. "Osaka went to go wake Yomi up," she elaborated. "We can explain everything in my room. It's this way," she invited the group to follow her.

"Our client is a grade school kid?" Reiji disdainfully spat despite being well within earshot of Chiyo.

"Hey, I'm a high school student!" Chiyo proudly announced.

"The embellished claims of a child do little to diminish my qualms," Reiji retorted.

"Be nice!" Eimi hissed before taking on a cheerier demeanor. "I'm sorry. Reiji can be a little… difficult at times."

"Talk about embellished claims," Haruka snorted. "He's an ass. We only put up with 'im 'cause he knows more about tha occult than tha rest of us combined."

The group continued to bicker even as they entered Chiyo's room. It was only broken up when Osaka recognized her cousin. "Hey Haruka, long time no see."

"Ha! If it ain't my… third favorite cousin," Haruka teased as she counted on her fingers.

"B-but ah'm your only cousin!" Osaka claimed.

"Hehe, not anymore," Haruka challenged. "Mah aunt had twins last fall."

"Ehh?"

"Don't worry Ayumu, ah'm just teasin' ya. Y'all'll always be mah favorite little cousin," Haruka continued to tease the spacey girl as she patted Osaka's head. "Ahn it looks laike y'all're always gonna be mah 'little' cousin, too. You ain't grown a bit since ah last saw y'all."

"Oi! Can we focus please?" Yomi and Reiji scolded simultaneously.

"Ehehe, raight," Haruka conceded. She stood there with a stupid grin on her face for a few seconds before realizing that Osaka wasn't about to get the hint. "Introduce me!" she hissed as she elbowed Osaka in the side.

"Oh!" Osaka exclaimed as she only then realized what she was supposed to do. "This is mah older cousin, Haruka," she explained as she motioned to the still beaming Haruka.

"You two almost look like twins," Chiyo marveled.

"Ahm tha president ah tha supernatural research club. Not only that, but ah can faight spirits, too," the Osaka look-alike boasted before motioning to Reiji. "Reiji used ta be tha president, but he's in college now. We ask him along whenever we maight go up against a spirit or somethin' 'cause he really knows his stuff."

"This had better not be a farce," Reiji spat. "I've better ways to waste my time."

Haruka sighed at Reiji's unpleasant greeting. "Movin' on," she dismissed as motioned to Eimi. "This is Eimi. She used ta go ta a Catholic middle school and is ah great spiritualist. She's good at negotiating with spirits an' exorcisms."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Eimi politely introduced herself.

"This here's Jack. Our ace when it comes ta dealin' with anythin' mean an' nasty," Haruka finished.

"Don't be fooled, Jack is my nickname. I'm not a foreigner," Jack explained. "It's because I'm a Jack-of-all-trades when it comes to going up against spirits and monsters."

"This here's mah cousin, Ayumu," Haruka introduced her group to the spacey girl. "She's tha one that's hirin' us."

"Actually, I'm hiring you," Yomi spoke up. "Osaka just recommended you."

"So who are you and what is it that is vexing you?" Reiji got straight to the point.

"Call me Yomi. My friend has been possessed. Can you help or not?"

"That all depends on whether or not your friend has truly been possessed. You might be surprised at how many incidents are merely misunderstandings, farces, and deceptions."

Yomi didn't falter. "She's possessed."

"We will be the judge of that," Reiji shot back. "Where is the subject?"

Yomi glanced at the various faces in the room before fixating on Reiji. "Before we go any further, I need your word that everything about this… situation stays just between the lot of us," she demanded in a grave tone. "I want a promise that you're not going to talk to anyone, no matter what."

"Ah can assure you that we take our client's privacy seriously," Haruka jumped in. "Lot's of embarrassin' stuff and dirty laundry can come up durin' this sort ah thing. We always leave private matters private."

"Quite frankly, we don't give a damn about your dirty little secrets," Reiji added as Chiyo excused herself to answer the phone. "We're just here to perform an exorcism. Nothing more."

"How reassuring," Yomi disdainfully spat.

"Just show us to the alleged victim so we can vet out the situation," Reiji asserted.

Yomi dropped her gaze to the floor. "We… don't know," she admitted. "She disappeared. I was hoping you could help find her."

"We are not a detective agency!" Reiji scowled. "We can't exorcise someone that isn't here!"

"You are exorcists, right? Can't you track the spirit possessing her or something?" Yomi pleaded.

"What a wonderful waste of our time," Reiji concluded as he turned toward the door.

Before Reiji had a chance to make a move, the door burst open revealing a panicked Chiyo holding a cordless phone. "Sakaki found her!" she breathlessly announced. "Sakaki found Tomo!"

* * *

><p>AN: The debut of Rin makes this something of a sequel to The Girl, the Cat, and the String. For any readers unaware, Rin is a bakeneko (monster cat) that has befriended Sakaki. Her role will be fairly minimal. The rest of the OCs are new.


	8. Skirmish

A/N: The action returns, but this chapter doesn't feature much of the main cast. They will return to the limelight next chapter.

* * *

><p>Yomi easily held the lead as everyone rushed up to an awaiting Sakaki. "T…Tomo! Wh-where is…Tomo?" Yomi choked out as she gasped for air.<p>

Sakaki didn't say anything. She just somberly pointed through an ornate, iron gate. Beyond the gate was a mansion that was a bit bigger than Chiyo's.

"In there?" Yomi queried as the rest of the group caught up.

Sakaki nodded. "It's dangerous," she warned. "My… friend thinks that we shouldn't go in. She already sent for help." The tall girl paused as she took in the new faces. "Who…?"

"Ah'm Ayumu's big cousin. We're all professional exorcists here, so y'all don't need tah worry none. We've done this sorta thing lotsa times," Haruka explained. She then turned to her allies, "Sense anythin'?"

"The ground near here is desecrated," Jack gravely observed as he gazed out at the mansion. "It reeks of pain, suffering, death, and decay."

"There are two spirits nearby," Eimi claimed as she hugged herself. "One is benign enough, but the one in the mansion… I've never felt anything like it. It's an overwhelming darkness that is filled with hatred and anger. It's scary. Really scary."

Jack carefully measured Sakaki before setting his gaze back to the mansion. "Maybe the big girl ain't just barking in the dark," he waivered. "Something doesn't smell right."

"The advice isn't the girl's," Reiji refused as he dumped an oversized duffel bag onto the ground. "And it's not like you to back down, Jack."

"Ri-my friend isn't wrong," Sakaki claimed. "You have to listen to her."

"We can't wait!" Yomi argued. "If Tomo's in there then-then we have to do something! We can't just stand by and do nothing!"

"Tha customer might always be right, but there are limits tah what we can do," Haruka reasoned. "Jack, Eimi, it's up tah you two. Do y'all think it's really that dangerous?"

"We didn't come to Tokyo for nothing!" Reiji jumped in. "If there is a spirit present then it is our onus to pursue it."

Eimi shook her head. "I-that thing really is terrible. It's really scary—but that means we have to do something, right? Miss Yomi is right. We have to help that girl, especially if what possesses her is truly that evil."

"We need to fight this spirit," Jack agreed.

"You can't go in there!" Sakaki warned as Jack opened the duffel bag and started passing out equipment. Jack paid her little mind as he handed a thick bible, a bronze crucifix, and a rosary to Eimi.

"They came here to save Tomo!" Yomi confronted Sakaki. "Why are you trying to stop them?"

"It's dangerous," Sakaki restated. "My friend is looking for help. She will find it."

"We won't be shown up," Jack boasted as he adorned several necklaces before passing a short-bow and quiver to Haruka. "This will be over in no time."

"Don't'ch'all worry, this here's fer after tha exorcism," Haruka assured.

"The spirit needs to be taken care of quickly after the exorcism," Jack asserted as he dawned a jacket and tucked away several trinkets. "It would be disastrous if it managed to escape and find a new victim."

"You… you're sure you can save her?" Yomi pressed.

Jack chuckled as he dragged more things from the duffel bag. "Try and stop us," he challenged. "I can't speak for these two softies, but the only reason I do this is for the opportunity to encounter spirits. It's the same for Reiji."

"I don't give a damn about some… that-that thing! You'll save Tomo? She won't get hurt?"

"Worst case scenario: a few bruises, maybe some minor burns, and one hell of a headache," Jack claimed.

"She's already hurt!" Yomi blurted out.

"Y'all've confronted her before?" Haruka asked as she finished stringing the bow.

Having left herself no choice, Yomi shrugged. "Y-yeah, sort of," she admitted. "She… Tomo is hurt pretty badly. She needs to get to a hospital!"

"You have brought harm to this girl?" Reiji accused.

This time Yomi shook her head. "I never touched her. To-Tomo's arm is in really bad shape, though," she shuddered as the image of Tomo digging her fingernails into the gashes left by Nyamo flashed through her mind.

"We'll take that into consideration," Jack shrugged the revelation off as he tossed the now empty duffel bag aside.

"The lot of you would do well to keep your distance," Reiji advised as he pulled the gate open. "This shouldn't be too long."

"Don't hurt Tomo," Yomi begged as the group prepared to approach the mansion.

"Don't go!" Sakaki urged against it. "You'll die!"

"We have already heard your concerns," Reiji brushed the two girls off.

"Seriously, go wait fer us," Haruka added.

A couple of minutes later the quartet had traversed the luxurious drive and arrived on the mansion's stoop. "Did anyone think to ask if anyone was home?" Eimi asked as the group stared at the imposing door.

"One way to find out," Jack dismissed just before balling his hand into a fist and pounding mercilessly on the door. An audible click sounded as soon as Jack ceased knocking on the door. The door slowly swung open to reveal that no one was on the other side. "Well this isn't ominous or anything," Jack sarcastically remarked as he preceded the other three into the mansion.

"What is the expression? The lights are on but nobody's home?" Reiji rhetorically asked as the group took in the amazingly immaculate and welcoming interior. It would have been a warm welcome if not for the deafening silence and the glaring absence of anyone.

"I don't think that expression is for this kind of scenario," Eimi countered as the group slowly began to fan out.

Before any of them made it more than ten steps from the door it slammed shut, sealing everyone in. Haruka was the first back to the door. A short and futile struggle led to the girl shaking her head. "Ain't no use," she resigned as she cautiously drew an arrow from her quiver and stepped back from the door.

"The hell? I thought we were doing an exorcism. Why is there a poltergeist here?" Jack puzzled as he scanned the area.

"I-it's not a poltergeist!" Eimi warned as she opened her bible. In lieu of elaborating any further, she began to fervently recite scriptures as she held up her bronze crucifix.

"How rude!" A deep, inhuman voice boomed throughout the room. "I finally get a few houseguests and the first thing you do once you arrive is to utter obscenities?" the voice drew everyone's attention to the opposite end of the entryway. There two ornate staircases on either side of the entrance hall led to the second floor. A female figure appeared in the center of the second floor balcony and leaned against the banister. She was dressed in a white t-shirt and a skirt. They were both soiled with dried blood. "No matter. I'll have my way with you either way," the voice continued, echoing out of the girl's throat as she spoke. "It's been a while since I've had any fun. The people here were just pitiful."

"Her arm," Reiji noted as his attention quickly focused on the girl's right arm. The appendage was wrapped in bloodstained bandages that were falling apart with neglect. "This is definitely the girl," he observed as he chanced a glance at Eimi. The girl was still fervently reciting passages from her bible. "I take it diplomacy is off the table, but indulge me a single query. Just what is it you seek? You must have a reason for possessing the girl."

Tomo chuckled with that unnerving, demonic voice. "You… you are fearless. I like that. I love it when my prey struggles and squirms." Witnessing no palpable rise in the group, Tomo only smiled wider. "Considering the enjoyment you will bring me as I break your fragile little bodies, I suppose I can at least tell you what I seek. It is very simple, really. I want you wretched humans to die! I want you all to suffer and die!" the spirit roared as Tomo's demeanor shifted towards anger. "You worthless sacks of flesh have no place on this earth and I won't be satisfied until I have slaughtered every last one of you fucking bastards!" Tomo stopped fuming as she took a step back away from the railing. "And nothing brings me more joy than to see you insignificant worms writhing in agony," she taunted as her smile returned. "The lot of you will fall before me, just like all the rest," the booming voice taunted with a chuckle. "I can't wait to hear your screams of anguish!"

"Jack!" Reiji urged as Haruka drew a bead on Tomo. "We'll put an end to you and this insanity!" he confidently asserted as Jack took off in a dead sprint towards the nearest staircase. As soon as he began to ascend the stairs, the handrail sprang to life and began to twist up and around, encircling him. Just as the animated object was about to constrict around Jack and crush him, Haruka's arrow sunk into the solid wood with an audible "thunk". The moment the arrow touched the railing, it stopped bending to the monster's will and froze in its gnarled position. Without missing a beat, Jack jumped over the now stationary railing and continued up the stairs.

"Insolent wretch!" Tomo cursed as she knelt down and forcibly pounded her palms against the floor. As the sound of her hands slapping the hardwood floor echoed, the stairs themselves succumbed to the spirit's dark will. The top stair surged up and pulled the stairs following it along. After rising upwards to create an impassible wall, the stairs coiled in on themselves and began surging towards Jack. As the avalanche of mangled wood stormed down towards him, Jack kept his resolve and kept climbing the stairs towards the lethal wall of debris. Another arrow impacted with the wave of debris, but even without the spirit's invisible hand pressing the wall of wood forward, momentum and gravity kept it falling towards Jack. Unwilling to turn back, Jack vaulted over the handrail as the debris rolled past him. His leap of faith was rewarded as he managed to wrap his hands around the base of the second floor's banister's supports. He immediately struggled to pull himself up.

Before Jack could so much as pull his shoulders above the level of the floor, Tomo approached him wearing a merciless grin. "You're a fun one," she taunted as she crouched down.

As Tomo wrapped her hand around one of the posts, Jack's instincts compelled him to let go and drop back down to the first floor. Just as he dropped clear, the post Tomo had grabbed exploded. The entirety of the splintered wood was directed at where Jack had been hanging. "Aww, it's no fun when you don't get your face ripped off," Tomo mocked as she leaned over to discover Jack back on his feet and none the worse for wear. Jack smiled back up at Tomo as he posed a hand in front of him and spoke in a foreign tongue. "What?" the demonic voice panicked as Tomo stepped back and discovered that Jack had left one of his necklaces underneath her: a silver pentacle.

Yielding to Jack's incantation, shadows spread out from the pentacle. The shadows twisted onto themselves and formed several serpents that instantly wrapped around Tomo and kept her anchored to the pentacle.

"He got 'er!" Haruka celebrated as she stared to head for the remaining staircase. "Let's go Eimi!"

"No!" Reiji quickly interjected. "Jack doesn't have it!"

Sure enough, one glance at Jack showed him to be wavering. Even more ominous was the fact that Tomo was still violently thrashing against the shadowy serpents despite their best efforts to keep the possessed girl still. Finally, Tomo managed to reach the banister. As soon as she touched it another support exploded. This time the shrapnel flew into the pendant, banishing the shadows and sending the trinket flying away.

"I underestimated you worms," Tomo begrudged as she turned back to the group. "Playtime is over!" she roared as she slammed hands into the railing. This time, two of the supports shot out.

"Down!" Reiji shouted as he tackled Eimi. His efforts spared Eimi from a brutal hit as the two supports flew through where she had been standing and smashed into countless pieces on the floor. Although her life was spared, Reiji interrupted her chant and sent her bible and crucifix skidding across the floor.

"That's much better!" Tomo exclaimed as the mangled wreckage of the remnants of the destroyed staircase surged to life. The entire pile of debris shot into the air and separated into countless chunks of mangled wood that floated over much of the room. The monstrosity made its first strike at the lost bible and crucifix, shredding them entirely with just bits of metal and wood. As she reveled in her triumph, she suddenly realized that one of the group had managed to elude her attention. "Where?" the beast growled as Tomo glanced about only to find Jack already rounding the top of the undamaged staircase. Fully prepared for an assault, Jack was armed with a tokkosho in one hand and an antler carved into a dagger in the other. Not willing to risk allowing Jack to get too close, Tomo abandoned her countless projectiles as she retreated to the nearby wall. Without a hint of effort, the girl passed through the solid wall and vanished from sight just as Jack finally closed the distance.

"Damn it!" Jack cursed as he eyed the wall into which Tomo had disappeared. He quickly spun around and approached the railing. "What's the plan?"

"Behind!" Reiji warned as a deafening crash sounded from behind Jack.

Jack quickly glanced behind him to find the entire section of wall launching towards him. Without a moment's hesitation, Jack launched himself over the banister moments before the wall crashed into it. The wall and banister exploded on impact as Jack landed on his feet back on the first floor. The shrapnel from the collision, however, followed not the laws of physics, but the unseen power of the evil spirit. In the blink of an eye, the shredded wood collected above Jack and shot towards him. As the deadly missiles approached Jack, he reached for another of his trinkets. This time he clasped a hand around a solitary, yellow tooth that was secured around his neck by a simple strip of leather. As soon as his fingers wrapped around the tooth, a large ethereal bear appeared around Jack. The phantom easily weathered the storm of wooden spears before vanishing back into thin air.

"Just full of surprises, aren't you?" Tomo mockingly praised as she stepped out onto what was left of the balcony. In a dramatic fashion, all of the debris slowly rose up and floated about her.

"Fresh out, actually," Jack admitted as he cautiously retreated to the rest of the group.

"You used your trump card already?" Reiji hissed as Jack approached.

"As if I had a choice," Jack calmly replied. "We have to get the hell out of here. That telekinesis is insane. There's no telling what all that monster can really do."

"In case you forgot, we're sealed in," Reiji reminded Jack.

"All outta choices, huh? Let's see what Ah can do," Haruka claimed as she took aim at Tomo and let an arrow fly.

The arrow zoomed towards Tomo, but as it approached the evil spirit willed some of the nearby debris to launch into the arrow's path. "You're all out of tricks, aren't you?" Tomo taunted.

"I hope y'all got a plan, 'cause that was mah last resort," Haruka lamented as she nocked another arrow.

"We make a tactical move and regroup our resources at another location," Reiji claimed as he glanced about. "Just need a secure route."

"Hey, running away was my idea," Jack quipped as he pointed to a nearby window. The ornate fixture was still fully intact, but Jack had a solution for that. As he dashed towards the window, he threw his tokkosho into the window, shattering the glass. The razor-sharp shards of glass never had a chance to hit the ground. As soon as they left the windowsill, the shards stopped midair and pointed back towards Jack. "Nice try," Jack mocked as he withdrew his hand from a small pouch and threw a handful of powder onto the shards. As soon as the powder dusted the shards they fell harmlessly to the ground. "Everyone out! Now!" Jack shouted as he threw the entire pouch in Tomo's direction. Even though the pouch didn't even get halfway to Tomo, it let out a stream of dust as it flew through the air creating a dead zone where the spirit couldn't exert its dark powers. "Haruka, keep it suppressed!"

Haruka complied as she started to send a constant volley of arrows towards Tomo and the debris as she slowly stepped towards the window. The tactic worked. The spirit had no chance for an offensive as it scrambled to shield Tomo from the arrows. In no time the entire group had retreated out of the window and was making a break for the street. Surprisingly, the spirit didn't give chase and the quartet made it safely across the open ground to the street.

"Where's Tomo?" Yomi pressed as the panicked group approached.

"I think it's chasing us, but we should keep moving. Just in case," Jack announced as he and Haruka scrambled to dump their equipment into the duffel bag. "Move!" he barked as he shouldered the bag and led the group away from the mansion.

"Where is Tomo?" Yomi demanded again as she and everyone else began a brisk march away from the mansion.

"Not follwin' us, Ah hope," Haruka prayed as she kept looking over her shoulder in the direction of the mansion.

"What happened?" Yomi doggedly continued as she stopped in the middle of the street, compelling everyone else to come to a halt as well. "Is Tomo okay?"

"Look, I haven't the foggiest what manner of supernatural force has overcome your friend, but the tall girl wasn't kidding. It nearly killed us," Reiji sternly explained. "That thing, whatever it may be, is entirely too powerful for us to trifle with. We didn't bring any additional harm to your friend, but we couldn't muster anything to aid her, either."

"I've never seen anything nearly that powerful or ruthless," Jack added. "I wanna get as far away from that damned place as possible while we think up a new plan."

"You're just giving up?" Yomi lashed out. "You were supposed to save her! You're not even hurt! You can't give up yet!"

"We ain't givin' up on yer friend," Haruka reassured. "But we need tah come up with somthin'. We can't do nothin' tah help yer friend right now. Maybe we should wait fer tha tall girl's friend tah bring us those reinforcements."

"We can discuss this matter at length once we have acquired a more secure location. I am still uneasy being within a close proximity to that mansion," Reiji argued as he started off again. "Let us regroup at Miss Mihama's residence. We can discuss this undesirable outcome once we arrive."

"We might want to fortify it, too," Jack added. "That monster seems like the type to hold a grudge."

"Are you sure Tomo is really okay?" Chiyo spoke up as the group again retreated from the mansion.

"An entire battalion would have trouble causing any harm to the victim at this point," Jack remarked. "That spirit has psychokinetic abilities the likes of which I've never seen."

"We-we can't just leave her," Yomi pleaded as she lingered behind. "We… can't."

"This ain't no joke!" Haruka emplored as she approached Yomi and tugged on her arm in an attempt to drag her along. "There ain't nothin' we can do ta help 'er right now!" Although Yomi still tried to protest, she didn't have the strength to resist Haruka from pulling her along.

By the time the group had gotten back to Chiyo's mansion, Haruka had gone from dragging Yomi to helping her walk. "Are ya'll sure yer all right?"

"No," Yomi grudgingly choked out as Haruka helped her to sit down at the table. The moment Yomi had gotten into place she collapsed onto the table and was fast asleep.

Everyone else was either sullen, or, in the case of Reiji and Jack, irritated. "What do we do now?" Chiyo squeaked.

Reiji took the lead as he motioned to Sakaki. "The big girl-"

"Sakaki," she introduced herself.

"Sakaki mentioned that a friend of hers was fetching aid for us. We'll wait to see how that pans out," he explained. "In the meantime we'll go through old contacts, clients, and previous club members to see if we can increase our odds."

"You're the resident expert," Jack spoke to Reiji. "What are we up against? I've never seen something quite like that before."

Reiji shook his head. "I don't know," he begrudgingly admitted. "I can't believe that spirit has such control over that girl. It was fully prepared to kill us and she didn't seem capable of resisting it at all."

"Usually a spirit can do little more than influence a person," Eimi chimed in as she cast a glance at Yomi's sleeping form. "Somehow that poor girl is nothing more than a puppet at this point."

"The worst part is that damned psychokinesis and how vicious that spirit is," Jack claimed. "It's going to kill someone if we don't do something soon."

"I regret to remind you, that spirit alluded to having murdered people before," Reiji recalled. "We cannot exclude the possibility that this apparition has already drawn blood."

Sakaki, Chiyo, and Osaka shared glances before turning back to the four spirit hunters. "Wh-what will you do if the spirit does hurt someone?" Chiyo reluctantly asked.

"What we're doing now," Jack insisted. "At this point we're running on the assumption that even if it didn't hurt anyone yet, it'll kill someone soon."

Chiyo paused a moment before posing the question on everyone's mind. "Wh-what about the police?"

"Not a prudent decision," Reiji dismissed. "The police won't be able to subdue the victim, and if worse comes to worst, they'll kill the girl. Obviously that won't remedy the situation. It matters not what becomes of the possessed victim. If the spirit is not exterminated, banished, or sealed it will inevitably possess another person and the cycle begins anew."

"Ah know it's scary an' all," Haruka stressed. "But even if this turns real ugly, we gotta keep a lid on it. Okay?"

Once again the trio shared looks before Sakaki spoke up. "It… already killed someone," she admitted. "Several people."

Reiji glared daggers at Sakaki as he grit his teeth. "You knew full well what this spirit was capable of and you still allowed us to pursue it without so much as a warning?"

"I warned you," Sakaki retorted. "You ignored me."

"It ain't good business tah pick a fight with our clients," Haruka jumped in to diffuse the situation. "But if y'all want us tah really help y'all, ya gotta be honest with us. Completely."

Sakaki sighed as she cast her gaze to Chiyo and Osaka. "We'll tell you the story," she offered as she turned back to the group.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, now that this dirty buisiness is done, the focus can shift back to the main cast. Yay!

Eimi uses Catholic techniques for dealing with spirits while Haruka uses purifiying arrows often associated with Shinto. Below is a brief explanation of Jack's tools of the trade.

Tokkosho: A Bhuddist tool that is an ornate handle with a blade on each end.

Pentacle: A common spiritual item seen in many religions.

Spiritual Salts: The powder Jack uses is little more than salt. It is believed to have purification qualities in several traditions.

Bear Phantom: Jack's guardian spirit.


	9. Questions

A/N: Okay, so the focus isn't entirely back on the main cast, but they do start to move back to center-stage. Next chapter (already written) emphasizes the main cast again. Hopefully it won't take long before I can post it.

* * *

><p>"Y'all really stumbled intah some really scary shit," Haruka said as she sat at a table in Chiyo's room across from Osaka. "It don't look like Reiji is gunna be able tah find anyone tah help us, either. I hate tah kill yer hopes, but it looks like yer friend's fate depends on this mystery help from yer huge friend."<p>

"It's weird," Osaka replied. "Sakaki has never said ah thing about knowin' about spirits an' stuff."

"Ah feel sorry fer yer sleepy friend there," Haruka sympathized as she looked to Yomi's sleeping form on a futon. "She seems tah be takin' it real hard."

"Yeah…"

Jack grit his teeth as he stood by Sakaki and watched Haruka and Osaka chat from across the large room. "That damned spirit thoroughly trounced us. That's never happened before," he spoke as he glanced up at the tall girl. "But you, you seemed to know full well that we would fail. How is that?"

Sakaki remained quiet a moment before replying, "I warned you not to go."

"Incessantly," Jack agreed. "What I want to know is how you knew that we couldn't handle it. All of your friends seemed to have faith in us." After giving Sakaki a few moments to respond, he continued, "the way I see it, you somehow knew just how powerful this spirit was. It's even more suspicious that you knew where to find it. So I guess my real is question is: just what are you still hiding from us?" Jack quietly accused as to keep the others from overhearing. "You seem to have a better handle on this than anyone and yet you are keeping it all to yourself. Why?"

After a moment's contemplation, Sakaki began casually walking towards the door. "I'm going to go check on Kagura," she announced as she reached the door. "I'm worried."

"Y'all can't leave! It's dangerous!" Haruka warned.

"Then Kagura might be in danger, too. I'm going."

"I'll escort her," Jack volunteered as he followed after the stubborn girl.

As the duo exited into the hall, they ran into Chiyo and Eimi each brining a tray of snacks towards Chiyo's room. "Where are you going?" the tiny redhead asked as they awkwardly shuffled about to allow Sakaki and Jack go by.

"I'm going to go make sure Kagura is okay," Sakaki explained as she disappeared down the hall.

"Be careful!" Chiyo cautioned after the duo.

"If Jack is with her, it should be okay," Eimi attempted to put the small redhead at ease in spite of her own worries. She knew full well that Jack wouldn't be able to so much as get away safely if that spirit attacked again.

As Sakaki exited the mansion with Jack on her heels, they ran into Reiji messing with his cell phone. "Still no luck," he announced as he took note of Jack. "I cannot find a single soul willing to come to our aid. The situation appears bleak."

"We're going to go find the other girl that has a hand in this mess," Jack announced as he went by.

"Fine," Reiji dismissed as he turned back to his phone.

As Sakaki and Jack reached the end of the driveway, Jack turned to Sakaki. "You know that spirit chased me and the others away. I can't really protect you."

Sakaki seemed to ignore him as she opened the gate to leave the mansion's grounds. After letting the door only swing halfway open, Sakaki slammed it back shut. The tall girl looked to Jack and the door again before grabbing his hand and sprinting back towards the house. "Hurry!" she urged. Once Jack was following, Sakaki let him go and put quite a bit of ground between the two of them by the time she reached the door. The tall girl burst through the door and sprinted up the stairs, but came to a halt as she reached the top. _Too late!_ she cursed her luck as she spied Chiyo standing on her toes to see the screen on the intercom interface. "Don't let her in!" Sakaki urged.

"I… just did," the tiny redhead revealed as she stepped away from the intercom.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack demanded from the base of the stairs as he made his way up.

"A detective is here," Sakaki gravely announced. "She knows a lot."

"A detective?" Jack queried as he reached the top of the stairs.

Sakaki nodded. "She was the one that arrested Yomi," she elaborated. "She already knows about the secret room. I think she has the club book."

"I do," a woman's voice called out as Midori entered the house through the carelessly agape door followed by a younger male detective and Reiji. "I have some… very interesting questions for the lot of you."

In a matter of seconds, the door to Chiyo's room opened as Chiyo, Sakaki, Jack, and Reiji marched in looking a bit irate. "What're y'all…" Haruka started before Midori and her fellow detective appeared in the doorway.

"I am Detective Midori Akiyama," the green eyed woman asserted as she held up her badge. "I am here in regards to the recent slayings."

The younger detective didn't exude nearly as much confidence or authority. "I… um…" he stammered as he flipped through a notebook he had brought along. "I don't think some of these kids are the right… um… suspects?"

"There do seem to be some unfamiliar faces," Midori claimed as she carefully scanned the room. "All of the girls are here though, minus Takino and Kagura. Mizuhara seems to be napping."

"Please don't disturb Yomi," Chiyo pleaded as the rest of the group either stared or glared at Midori.

Midori seemed to ignore Chiyo as she looked to Haruka and Osaka. "Which of you is Kasuga Ayumu?" she asked as she looked the two similar looking girls over.

"That's me," Osaka volunteered.

"Ah'm Ayumu's cousin, Haruka," Haruka added.

"We arrived here at Haruka's request—to provide support to her cousin over the nearby murders and disappearances," Reiji asserted.

"All four of you?" Midori asked as she glared at the younger detective.

"Ah, right," the young man stumbled as he grabbed a pen to take down notes.

"We're from Osaka," Jack quickly claimed. "We only got here a few hours ago."

Midori scanned the faces of the four unknowns for any signs of deception. "Can you prove it?"

Within seconds Reiji held out his phone towards the detective. "Observe the timestamps attached to the receipts," he confidently asserted. Sure enough, the phone showed four train tickets purchased from the phone in Osaka with Tokyo as the destination. The train would have arrived just a few hours ago. "Should you presume that evidence insufficient, I am certain our academic attendance would present an irrefutable alibi."

"What do the four of you know of the situation? Bear in mind that should you lie you may have criminal charges brought against you," Midori demanded.

"We showed up to help Haruka's cousin," Jack spat. "We told you that already. The only thing we know is a bunch of people died and went missing. It's a dangerous situation."

"And you came willingly into the middle of the inferno," Midori retorted. "Explain to me how you thought it was a good idea to enter a neighborhood that's seen well over a dozen horrific murders in a single day."

"It's a bad idea," Jack calmly replied as he stared the detective down. "Stupid and arrogant, but that's what you do when someone needs you."

Midori grit her teeth at the adroit response. "Very well," she dismissed as she shifted her attention away from the unknown four. "In that case I would like to question the rest of you individually. In private," she asserted as she fixated on Sakaki. "I'll start with you, Miss Sakaki," Midori pointed to the tall girl. "Miss Mihama, would you kindly show me to a room where I can ask a few questions in private?"

"I… All right," the tiny genius squeaked as she led the detective and Sakaki out of her room.

"Stay here and keep an eye on the rest," Midori ordered the younger detective as the trio left the room.

As Sakaki followed her tiny friend and the intimidating detective, she spotted a black cat plodding along with the group. "Fear not, child," a voice echoed in Sakaki's mind. "I shall remove this thorn from your paw."

Sakaki breathed a sigh of relief as Chiyo allowed the group into her dining room. "You can use the table and chairs here," she permitted. "Please don't leave a mess."

"Thank you, Miss Mihama," Midori cordially spoke to the little girl. "Please go back to your room. I will return there once I have finished questioning Miss Sakaki."

"I'm not obliged to talk to you," Sakaki defiantly claimed as soon as Chiyo left.

"No, you're not," Midori agreed, "But with that book I think I have all the grounds I need to bring all of you in for official interrogation. Would you prefer that?"

"No," Sakaki denounced as she watched her furry friend jump up onto the table.

"Take a seat," Midori ordered as she sat down and motioned across the table from herself.

Sakaki reluctantly pulled out a chair and sat down.

"You already stated that there was a body in the secret club room," Midori stared the tall girl down. "What happened to it?"

Sakaki paused as she looked to a seemingly empty spot on the table. "It… disappeared. I don't know how."

"Why didn't you contact the police when you discovered the body?" Midori pressed.

"And tell the authorities… what?" a voice echoed inside Sakaki's head.

"There… wasn't any proof," Sakaki claimed as she kept her gaze on the cat only she could see. "No one would have listened to us. You still won't."

"I'm listening now," Midori offered. "I'll hear you out."

Sakaki was caught a bit off guard, but was quick to rebound. "The suspect is an evil spirit. It was in the closet with the body."

"An evil spirit?" Midori raised an eyebrow. "You can't possibly expect me to believe some fairy tale."

"It's not a fairy tale!"

"Stop stalling!" Midori barked before taking a deep breath to regain her composure. "Your friend Tomo Takino is missing. Do you know where she is?"

Sakaki hesitated before shaking her head. "No."

"When was the last time you saw Miss Takino?"

The tall girl again paused a moment for coaching from her friend before replying. "Just before gym class…"

* * *

><p>The group, minus a still-snoozing Yomi, sat at the table in the middle of the room in general silence under the not-so-watchful eye of the rookie detective. He absentmindedly flipped through the documents as he tried to grasp just what Midori saw in the group of girls. "The air in here has shifted," Jack whispered as he kept his gaze locked on the detective. "Something stinks."<p>

Eimi nodded in agreement. "I've been sensing something fleeting for some time. It looks like it has fully manifested now."

"A-are you saying there is a spirit in my house?" Chiyo fretted as she tried her hardest not to panic.

"Is there a history of that sort of thing here?" Eimi gently asked.

Chiyo shook her head as she quaked with fear.

"I-I wouldn't worry too much about it," Eimi reassured the injured girl. "This spirit doesn't seem to be malevolent."

"We've no obligation to remain sequestered," Reiji argued, plenty loud enough to garner attention from the detective. "It is imperative that we confront this new unknown."

Jack grabbed Reiji's wrist to keep him at the table. "It can wait," he argued. "I won't have you ruin my chances for a rematch."

"Were you not trounced thoroughly enough during our previous encounter?" Reiji bit back.

"H-hey!" the young detective shouted. Although he tried to sound authoritative, it came out a lot more like a plea. "Detective Akiyama said that she didn't want you guys talking too much while she did the-her interrogation… thing."

"Eimi, you will support me," Reiji said as he stood.

"S-sit down, Reiji," Eimi pleaded. "Jack is right, it can wait."

"You'll never find anything without me or Eimi to guide you," Jack warned. "Sit."

Haruka forcibly laughed as she rubbed the back of her head. "Don't y'all pay Reiji no mind," she implored. "He don't get along with authority."

"Just-just follow Detective Akiyama's wishes," the detective implored. "You don't want to get on her bad side, believe you me."

"Traitors," Reiji spat as he reluctantly sat back down.

The group fell again into silence for what seemed like an eternity before Sakaki returned with Midori in tow. Both of them wore a stoic mask, shrouding the outcome of the questioning. "Miss Mihama, I would like to ask you some questions now," Midori asserted in an authoritative tone.

Chiyo hesitated a moment before rising to her feet. "Okay."

As the little girl crossed paths with Sakaki, she was stopped with a hand on her shoulder. "Listen to her," Sakaki advised before turning and looking at Midori. "Not her." Sakaki then walked back over with the rest of the group, leaving Chiyo a bit befuddled.

Sakaki's words left a bad taste in Midori's mouth as she walked alongside the little injured redhead. It wasn't as if she had failed to notice the tall girl's strange behavior. It was more than a little obvious that after most questions Sakaki would be silent a time before answering. Although she suspected that the tall girl might be getting coached on her answers, there were no signs at all of anyone else or any covert devices. _Just what is it that these kids are up to?_ she wondered as she took the opportunity to closely inspect Chiyo's ear.

Chiyo was still wondering just what it was that Sakaki was talking about when a feminine voice echoed in her ears, "Be calm and do not let on that you can hear me." Of course, the first thing Chiyo did was to look around for the source of the strange voice. "You will not find me," the voice cautioned. "You are the only one who can hear my words."

Chiyo looked up towards Midori to find the detective staring back at her. "Don't fret," Midori reassured the injured girl, "I don't want to cause you and any of your friends any trouble. I just want to find answers so that we can stop the bloodshed."

"I will guide you through her questions. Follow my instructions and she will not pierce the veil," the voice called out to Chiyo.

"O-okay," she foolishly answered the mysterious voice.

Over the course of the next couple of hours, Midori interrogated Chiyo, Osaka, and even Yomi. In the end, she didn't find out enough to arrest anyone. She didn't even have enough to bring any of them in for questioning. "Damn it all!" she shouted as she entered her car along with her junior detective.

"I… um, did you find out anything?" the younger detective carefully treaded as he shut the passenger-side door.

"No," she begrudgingly admitted. "They are hiding something, though. I'm more certain of that than ever."

"Didn't the chief say that you would have to stop harassing those kids if you didn't find anything?"

"Shut up!" Midori barked as she started the engine.

"Well… I mean, if you didn't find anything why do you still think it's those kids?"

"You might be new, but you've seen more than enough cases already. When was the last time you questioned four different witnesses and got the same answers from all of them?"

The young detective looked to Midori wondering if he was supposed to answer or not. A few seconds of silence spurred him to speak up. "The answers are usually pretty similar, unless someone is lying."

"Similar is not 'the same'," the senior detective argued. "They all had the same answers. Even honest witnesses' stories vary slightly. Everyone interprets things differently. But those kids… all of their answers were too similar. They either rehearsed their answers beforehand or… or they somehow had someone coaching them."

"Coaching?"

"They all hesitated on nearly every question. Almost as if they were listening to instructions being fed to them," Midori complained. "But how? We were the only ones in the room and I'm certain they didn't have any sort of listening device on them."

"Um… even if all of that is true, isn't the chief going to make you give up on this lead?"

"On the department's time," Midori pointed out as she began entertaining ideas about how to lift the shroud surrounding those girls.

* * *

><p>As soon as Midori left, Reiji took charge as the group lingered in the entrance hall. "Where is it?" he demanded as he looked to Eimi and Jack.<p>

"I… stopped sensing it a few minutes ago. It must have gone back into hiding. There's no telling where it is now," Eimi replied.

"The air still lingers with its scent," Jack said. "But I'm no bloodhound. I can't track it either. Not until it shows up again."

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Yomi demanded.

"A spirit is present within these walls," Reiji claimed.

"A spirit that bears no resentment, anger, or playfulness," Eimi quickly interjected in an effort to keep everyone calm.

"Honestly the spirit here isn't a concern at all," Jack agreed. "We need to focus on that possessed girl."

"A spirit?" Chiyo asked as the group shared glances, all of them remembering the mystery voice that guided them through the interrogations as well as the hushed conversation earlier about the unseen force. "What-what do you think this spirit might have done?"

Eimi shook her head. "The spirit… seemed protective," she recalled. "I don't know if it wanted to protect someone here or maybe there is an object here it wanted to protect. In any case, it must believe that the threat is gone since it has gone back into hiding."

Although the majority of the girls wanted to bring up the mystery voice that had aided them, each of them had promised it that they would not speak of it. "So… it's a good spirit?" Chiyo gently prodded.

Eimi shrugged. "It depends… It seems as though it's gone into hiding, so there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Damn it all!" Reiji cursed as he slammed his fist into a nearby wall. "Had you imbeciles bothered to seize the opportunity, our quarry would not have eluded us!"

"What'd y'all have us tah do? Knock out tha detective an' go huntin' fer that spirit?" Haruka intervened.

"We have no obligation to a pair of overzealous suits," Reiji challenged. "It's this lot they were concerned with," he argued as he motioned to Chiyo and the rest.

"In case y'all didn't notice, they're right. Ah ain't got ah clue as tah how they'd figured we're chest deep in this whole murderin' spree thing, but them cops could really be ah problem."

"That—"

"Are you really going to sit there and bitch over lost opportunities?" Jack interrupted Reiji. "Time for us to regroup and await Sakaki's reinforcements," he asserted with a knowing grin as he motioned back towards Chiyo's room. "All things considered, I have high hopes for this mystery help."

As the group headed towards Chiyo's room, Sakaki hesitated. "I'm still worried about Kagura," she interjected as she turned to the front door.

Jack quickly broke off from the group as he chased after Sakaki. "You guys stay here. I'll go with her." In no time Jack had caught up to Sakaki as she marched down the drive. "And here I thought that was just an excuse for you not to talk to me," he admitted as he fell in step next to the tall girl. Sakaki offered him no reply—she didn't even glance over at him. "It's starting to get late, you're not worried about what that spirit might do after sundown?" Again, no reply from Sakaki. Jack sighed as he resigned his attempts at the indirect approach. "I'm eager to see what reinforcements your 'friend' has to offer," he praised. "What's even more amazing is how you become friends with a spirit."

Sakaki sent Jack a glance as the duo stepped out of the gate cordoning off Chiyo's luxurious property. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"How loyal," he mockingly praised. "How about it, spirit?" Are you willing to give me some answers?" Jack called out as he looked around for signs that the spirit had not gone far from the tall girl.

"How clever, for a human," a feminine voice called out as a black cat appeared walking on the opposite side of Sakaki. "You need not know more than this, human: I shall aid this girl and her interests. Keep sticking your nose where it does not belong and you will find it was the cat that killed the curious." With that threat, the cat vanished into thin air even though its voice continued to echo in Jack's mind. "And keep your mouth shut, lest I take your tongue."

"Huh… A bakeneko?" he mused as his eyes stayed locked on the spot where the mysterious creature would have been, had it not faded from sight. "Pretty damned strong, too," the spirit hunter praised. "It makes me wonder why you don't just have that monster take care of the possessed girl."

"She is _not_ a monster," Sakaki defended.

Jack snorted derisively at the suggestion. "If not a monster, then what would you call it?"

Sakaki finally looked Jack in the eye. "Friend," she simply informed him.

The short boy sighed as he let it go. There was no telling exactly what the bakeneko was capable of—and being eaten alive wasn't very high on Jack's to-do list. "This aid she offers, is it herself? Why are we wasting time?"

"Ri-she can't help," Sakaki stumbled as she caught herself from revealing her secretive friend's name. "She doesn't have the ability to exorcise anyone."

"I only caught a glimpse of it, and I can tell it is a powerful spirit," Jack accused. "It could do something to aid us."

"If she could, she would," Sakaki affirmed.

Jack growled as he bit his tongue. _Does that bakeneko have her under a spell?_ he questioned Sakaki's blind loyalty to the apparition . It didn't take long for the duo to come to a stop outside a modest home. "Is this where 'Kagura' lives?" Sakaki nodded as she headed for the door. "You go ahead. Not like you need _another_ bodyguard," Jack disdainfully spat as he leaned against the fence. "I wouldn't turn down another conversation with that 'friend' of yours, though," he added just as the sound of the front door opening reached his ears. He listened as the man at the door let Sakaki in and the door closed. "Come on, cat, I'm not asking for much," he persisted after a few moments of silence.

"Your courage is commendable, human," Rin spat as she appeared atop the fence. Her head was focused not on the spirit hunter, but rather the building where Sakaki had disappeared. "Or perhaps your stupidity is what is so stunning."

"I'm no fool," Jack claimed as he kept his gaze locked on the reddening sky. "That's why I wonder why something interested in helping us take out that spirit isn't actually helping us."

"An exorcism is outside of my abilities," the monster conceded. "And subduing that human without killing her… That is—how do you humans say—a tall order?"

Jack grunted at the ambiguous response. "Okay, so what is it that we are really dealing with? Do you know?"

"One of the lost ones. A spirit from a realm that does not exist," Rin claimed. "The aid I have sent for should have a way to banish or seal it. Until then, we shall wait."

"Okay. One last question: what is with that Sakaki girl? I can't tell which one of you is under the other's thrall."

The monster let out a chuckle as it stretched and stood. "I have wondered that myself," she admitted as she vanished again.

Jack sighed as he again sensed the absence of the spirit. As he looked to the darkening sky, he couldn't suppress the feeling of anxiousness that the threat of nightfall brought. "What the hell is taking that girl so long?"

* * *

><p>Sakaki stood motionless in front of the door to Kagura's room. Her parents seemed eager to have Sakaki try and cheer their daughter up, but Sakaki didn't have a clue as how to proceed. The tall girl sighed as she reached towards the door and rapped on it. After a couple of seconds of dead silence, Sakaki decided to speak up. "Kagura? Are you in there? It's me, Sakaki." Again, no answer came. Sakaki raised her arm to knock again, but halted partway through and instead moved to the handle. "Can I come in?"<p>

"Just go in," a masculine voice called out as Sakaki was obediently awaiting a response from the tomboy.

Sakaki hesitated a moment before opening the door and stepping inside. The room was bathed in darkness and the tall girl contemplated turning the lights on before deciding against it. "Kagura?" she called out as she closed the door behind her and tried to let her eyes adjust to the dim light.

"J-just leave me alone," Kagura pleaded, her voice raw with emotion.

The tall girl sighed as she glanced about the room. It was a complete disaster. Things were strewn about everywhere and a lot of it was smashed and broken. At the far end of the room was Kagura's bed. Sakaki could spy her friend curled up and facing the far wall. Kagura was only dressed in a tank top and a pair of panties. "I won't," Sakaki asserted as she found her nerve and approached Kagura's bed.

"Please," Kagura flinched as she gripped her pillow tight to her body and face. "I want to be alone."

Sakaki decided to sit on the bed as she leaned over her friend. "I… know that it's hard. I cried a lot, too," she empathized as she hesitated on whether or not to put a hand on Kagura's arm.

"What do you know!?" Kagura lashed out as she gripped the pillow ever tighter. "Sensei is dead! She's dead and-and it's our fault! Sensei is dead because… because…" she trailed off as she began to sob.

"It isn't your fault," Sakaki asserted as she tried to place her hand on Kagura's arm, only to have her shrug it off. "You wanted to leave the door closed," the tall girl reminded her friend as her gaze fell to her own lap. She felt a wave of guilt wash over her as she remembered that she had also encouraged Tomo to open the door. "I-it was stupid for us to try…" Sakaki shook her head before rubbing her eyes to free unshed tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Go away!" Kagura shouted again.

Sakaki stood, but made no effort to leave. "No," she firmly denied as she again reached for Kagura's arm. This time she roughly grabbed it and pulled. "I'm not leaving without you."

Sakaki's efforts managed to pull the tomboy up and away from the wall. Only once Kagura was sitting up was she able to wrench her arm free. "What the hell is your problem!? Haven't you guys done enough damage already!?" After her outburst the disheveled girl covered her face with her hands and continued crying. "Just-just leave me… leave me alone. P-please."

"You aren't safe here," Sakaki pleaded as she tentatively sat next to the mourning girl. "It might come for you."

Kagura just shook her head. "P-please… I-I just—I can't."

"What the hell is taking so damned long!?" Jack shouted as he burst into the room.

Kagura quickly grabbed a pillow and hugged it in front of herself to protect her modesty. "W-who are—what the hell!?"

"She doesn't want to leave," Sakaki claimed.

"Then leave her here!" Jack ordered. "We've got to get back to Mihama's mansion! Everyone there will die if that spirit shows up without us there!"

Sakaki looked to Kagura a moment before turning back to Jack and shaking her head. "I can't… just leave her here."

"Look, I've got a real bad feeling. I don't wanna be out after dark," Jack argued. "But just think about it this way: you're risking putting all of your other friends' lives in jeopardy just to try to save this one girl."

Sakaki hesitated briefly before responding, "Kagura is my friend, too."

"The thing… that _thing_ that killed Sensei," Kagura spoke up as she did her best to keep her voice even. "That's what you're talking about?"

"Yes," Sakaki affirmed.

"Why?! Why did it kill her!?" Kagura demanded as tears fell anew. "And it's after you guys now? What's going on!?"

Sakaki tentatively placed her hand on Kagura's. "We don't have all the answers, not yet."

"We don't have time to sit around and chitchat," Jack disdainfully spat. "If you want answers, get packed and come with us. Either way we're leaving. We can't just leave everyone unprotected." He then turned his attention back to Sakaki. "I'll give you five minutes—then we're leaving. Even if I have to drag you out kicking and screaming."

As soon as Jack stormed out, Sakaki got to her feet and pulled Kagura up along with her. "Please, we have to go."

"You… you'll tell me everything?" Kagura asked as she released Sakaki's hand and drew an arm across her face before she stumbled through the messy room to her dresser. "About Sensei and… and why…"

"No," Sakaki denied with a firm shake of her head. "It isn't my place to say. Yomi will tell you."

"Yomi… everyone is…"

"We're all staying at Chiyo's. It will be safe there," Sakaki asserted.

The mourning girl barely nodded as she fished through her dresser for a fresh change of clothes. "I, um…" Kagura stumbled as she turned to Sakaki with underwear in her hand.

Sakaki blushed as she moved to Kagura's door. "I-I'll wait for you," she said as she opened the door. "We might have to stay at Chiyo's for a few days," she added as she left the room and closed the door behind her.

As soon as Sakaki left the house Jack sprung off of the fence, fully prepared to leave. "Let's go."

"Kagura is getting ready. We're waiting."

"Grr… fine," Jack begrudgingly relented as he again leaned against the gate.

The duo ended up waiting nearly ten minutes before a bleary-eyed Kagura emerged from the house wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants. She had a small duffel bag that she slung over her shoulder as soon as she closed her front door.

"About time," Jack complained. "Let's get going."

"Who… who the hell are you anyway?" Kagura scoffed as she followed after Jack and Sakaki.

"I go by 'Jack'," the short boy asserted as he set a vigorous pace. "I'm a spirit hunter. My team was hired to take on this case."

"S-so what is it? What killed Sensei?" Kagura demanded.

Jack shook his head. "Dunno. A real monster, that's for sure."

"Why? Why did it—"

"Look," Jack cut her off, "Haruka would skin me alive if I told you anything—or at least skewer me with an arrow. If you want to know anything, talk to our client. That glasses-girl. Yomi I think her name was."

"Yomi will tell you everything once we get there," Sakaki reiterated. "Let's hurry!"


	10. Trepidation

A/N: Here's the latest chapter. Finally the main cast works its way back to center stage! Hooray!

* * *

><p>"Augh!" Get offa me!" Kagura writhed against Sakaki's grip as she held her back. "Lemme go!"<p>

"Just, get her out of here," Jack requested as he stood between Kagura and Yomi in case either one struggled free.

Only after Sakaki dragged Kagura out of the room did Reiji release Yomi. "Damned bitch," she spat as she brought a hand to her nose to stem the bleeding.

"Uh-um… I'll go get a first-aid kit," Chiyo volunteered as she headed for the door. On the other side the little girl found Sakaki trying to calm Kagura down in the hallway. "Is Kagura okay?" she politely asked, even though Kagura was the only one who got to throw punches before the two were separated.

"She just needs to calm down," Sakaki claimed.

"I need a shower," Kagura claimed as she pushed Sakaki away. "Bring me a change from my bag," she ordered as she stomped off.

Chiyo was silent a moment before remembering Yomi's bloodied nose. "I need to go get a first-aid kit for Yomi," the redhead dismissed herself.

Sakaki quickly fell in line with the small girl. "Sorry about that," she apologized in lieu of Kagura.

"It's not your fault," Chiyo reassured as she led the tall girl through the elegant home. "We're all really upset. I don't know why Kagura got so angry, though."

"She is taking it really hard," Sakaki explained as Chiyo entered what appeared to be a small room for emergencies. The walls were lined with shelves of canned food, blankets, flashlights, and batteries. The little girl grabbed a first-aid kit before heading back out.

"I just hope that Yomi and Kagura will get along," Chiyo optimistically said.

Sakaki nodded in spite of the small girl being in front of her. "I'll take Kagura her bag. I'll talk to her."

"Then I can talk to Yomi," Chiyo agreed. "Let's hope we can get them to reconcile."

The two girls reentered the room and while Chiyo and the rest doted on Yomi, Sakaki grabbed Kagura's bag and plodded out of the room unnoticed by everyone. The tall girl made her way through to the bathroom where she could hear the water running through the door. "I brought your bag," she announced through the door as she knocked.

"Bring it in," Kagura's voice echoed back through the door.

"A-ah, so you're still decent," Sakaki assumed as she reached for the handle.

"We change together in gym class all the time, what difference does it make?" Kagura replied through the door. Her voice wasn't sarcastic or impatient, just… hollow.

Sakaki hesitated a moment before opening the door. The naked tomboy was sitting hunched over on a stool as water and steam fell down on her. She looked absolutely miserable. The tall girl tried to avoid looking at her exposed friend as she searched for a place to set the bag down. "I, um… where…?"

"Is Yomi mad?" Kagura asked as she sniffed and tried her hardest not to cry.

Sakaki shook her head. "I don't know. Probably."

Kagura gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. "I-I just… I was so angry since-since Sensei *hic* Sensei died. Yomi was right there and-and she knew *sniff* she knew everything."

"Yomi... is struggling, too," Sakaki pointed out as she set the bag don on another stool too keep it off of the potentially wet floor. "Everyone is worried about Tomo."

"I'm not!" Kagura bit back as her anguish morphed into anger. "She's the one that opened the door!"

"You… don't mean that," Sakaki refuted.

"Don't I?! What do you know!?" Kagura shouted as she suddenly stood and faced Sakaki, entirely not caring about her modesty. "You weren't there! Sensei was bleeding to death and I… and Yomi…. It's Tomo's fault! I had to watch Sensei die because of her! I hate her!"

_SMACK!_

Kagura's rant was cut short by a forceful slap from Sakaki. "Tomo is our friend!" she scolded as she angrily stared Kagura down. "It's that spirit's fault—not Tomo's."

Kagura covered her burning cheek as she glowered back at Sakaki. "Get out," she coolly ordered.

Sakaki continued to lock stares with Kagura for several seconds before turning and heading for the door. "Sooner or later, you are going to have to stop blaming people and accept things as they are. No matter how painful that is," she spat as she exited the bathroom.

"Fuck you!" Kagura's voice followed after Sakaki.

Although Kagura's words stung her, Sakaki didn't take it to heart. _She's just lashing out_, Sakaki convinced herself as she made her way back to Chiyo's room. She hesitated at the door and instead headed for the nearby staircase for some much-needed privacy. Sitting down on the top stair, Sakaki pulled out the small bell Rin had given her. A faint echo of a chime told the tall girl that while Rin was around, she wasn't at her side. Assured that she was alone, the tall girl hunched over as she began to cry. Although Sakaki had already spent a night crying over Yukari's untimely demise, she hadn't learned that Nyamo failed to survive her wounds until Yomi had told her only hours earlier. Making matters worse was the guilt she felt over her argument with Kagura. It was more than a little hypocritical of her to assert that Kagura needed to accept what had happened when she hadn't even let the gravity of the situation sink in herself. "Idiot," she berated herself as she made no attempt to stem her tears.

"I think it stopped bleeding," Yomi claimed as she drew a hand across her nose to see if any fresh blood would rub off onto her hand.

"I'm glad," Chiyo said in earnest.

"How's yer face feelin'?'" Osaka inquired.

Yomi grunted as she fetched a mirror to look at herself. "It's a little sore," she admitted as she inspected her developing bruises.

"I-I hope you're not too mad at Kagura," Chiyo meekly prodded. "She will probably apologize once she has some time to cool off."

"We'll see," Yomi scoffed as she put the mirror down. Of course, her own condition was far from the only thing on her mind. "Where's Sakaki? When's her help supposed to show up?"

Chiyo pointed to her bedroom door. "I think Sakaki went to go take care of Kagura."

"I'm pretty sure we won't have to have that tall girl announce when her reinforcements show up," Jack claimed. "I get the feeling we'll know the moment they arrive."

"Well, when will it arrive?" Yomi pressed. "Every moment we waste here…"

"You postulate that complaining about it will expedite the arrival of our assistance?" Reiji interjected. "We've no recourse. Stymy your complaints and wait graciously. Hell, return to your slumber for all I care. Just shut up."

"Reiji!" Eimi hissed.

Yomi grit her teeth as she glared at Reiji. "Do I have to hire him, too? Can't you three operate without him?"

"All've us here's ah package deal," Haruka claimed. "Y'all're our client though. Y'all get tah call tha shots."

"Fire him," Yomi ordered as she pointed at Reiji. "Or at least make him shut up."

"Please don't let Reiji get under yer skin," Haruka tried to placate Yomi. "And Reiji, what've Ah told y'all about antagonizin' our clients? Would it kill yah tah be nice even once?"

"Probably," Reiji quipped. "Untimely deaths often follow new ventures."

Chiyo stepped in to try to mitigate another fight. "Please don't argue. I know everyone's patience is wearing thin. Maybe we should try to do something to try to take out minds off of it?"

"I'm not going to forget about Tomo!" Yomi instantly refuted.

"She still seems angry," Kagura mumbled just outside of Chiyo's room. Although she had come to the conclusion that she would have to forgive Yomi and apologize, she was far from resolving her feelings. As she agonized about opening the door, a faint sound reached her ears. She paused as she carefully listened. _Crying?_ Kagura wondered as she turned from the door and followed the sounds. In no time at all Kagura spied a girl sitting at the top stair. That mane of ebony hair—so long that several centimeters of it dragged along the floor—could only belong to Sakaki. "H-hey," she tentatively greeted as she approached from behind. "Are you crying?"

Sakaki scrambled to dry her tears in a vain attempt to dissuade the tomboy's suspicions. "N-no, I…"

"I-I'm sorry," Kagura sincerely apologized as she dumped her bag on the floor and sat next to Sakaki. "Is it because I snapped at you? I didn't mean it… I just-I don't know."

Sakaki shook her head as she looked to Kagura. The tomboy might've just gotten out of the shower, but she still didn't look too good. Her still-wet hair hung lifelessly from her face and Sakaki figured that her eyes had to be just as red and swollen as her own. "I… I told you: you're not the only one that's still hurting," she admitted. "I can't believe that they're gone. And-and Tomo… I'm really worried."

"I really should apologize to her," Kagura mumbled after a few seconds of silence. "I just… I don't want to. Not right now."

"Did you want to be alone?" Sakaki hesitantly looked to her old rival.

"N-no," Kagura denied as she shook her head. "This-this is fine."

* * *

><p>Many minutes after the sun's reassuring light traded places with the disquieting shroud of night, sirens echoed down the empty streets. Their whine pierced the walls of a modest home, overshadowing the sounds of sobbing and whimpering. The screeching noise elicited a bored sigh from a bloodstained youth as she stood in a completely demolished living room. "Looks like there isn't any time left to play with you," she claimed in a voice that was a hybrid between a schoolgirl's and a masculine, demonic droll.<p>

At the girl's feet was a beaten, broken, and bleeding woman. "P-please… m-my daughter…" she begged as she used her last ounce of strength to wrap a hand around the possessed girl's ankle.

Completely unamused, the bloodied girl stared coldly down at the woman. Without warning, a nearby chair exploded. One of its severed legs shot across the room to hover next to the girl, "How dare such filth touch me?" In an instant, the makeshift stake shot downward and pierced the woman's torso. Blood spattered from the impact, soiling the girl's face as the woman's grip slackened. As the possessed girl kicked the lifeless hand away from her ankle, a black miasma began to emanate from her body. With an unholy power, the mist slowly lifted molecule after molecule from the woman's body and dragged the dust towards the girl. Over the course of about a minute, the flesh, bone, and sinew were all ripped into the black void leaving nothing but blood-soaked clothes and a steak firmly planted into the floor.

"Just what sort of monster is capable of such a thing?" a woman's voice drew the possessed girl's attention to a cloaked figure.

The bloodstained girl didn't bother answering as she stepped to the side, revealing a truly disturbing sight; a young girl no older than eight or nine pinned to the wall with a metal pole through her chest. She was crying silent tears as blood dripped from her mouth. Both of her tiny hands were wrapped around the pole at the point where it pierced her flesh.

"I don't have time to deal with you," the possessed girl claimed as she reached out and touched the pole. As soon as her fingers touched the metal pole, it began to pull itself in half and bifurcate. Shifting her hand, she placed her fingers on the inside of the bifurcation as the pole rapidly began to unfurl. The split rapidly reached the suffering girl as it pulled her wound apart. As the metal continued its divergence, it slowly pulled its way through the girl's torso. As it curled in on itself, the pole finally managed to rip the girl half, sending her body plunging to the floor as many of her organs spilled out.

"Repent!" the cloaked woman cried out as she produced a staff and assumed a fighting stance. The wooden pole began to glow with an otherworldly blue energy as she prepared to attack.

"Die," the girl countered in a somewhat bored tone as the curled halves of the pole shot out of the wall and at the woman. The first one solidly struck the staff, sending it and the gnarled metal flying across the room. The second twisted hunk of metal tore right through the woman with a little too much ease. The woman stood a moment with a clear gap between her upper and lower halves. Instead of collapsing to the ground, the gap spread out as the cloaked figure's body seemed to dissipate into thin air. In just a couple of seconds, all that was left were two halves of a paper doll as they fluttered to the ground.

"Shikigami?" the girl wondered aloud with frustration clear in her twisted voice. She stared at the bits of torn paper a moment before turning back to the bloodied heap beside her. Once more the black fog began to appear, but nothing happened as it reached the little girl's flesh. "Still alive?" she marveled as the mist instantly dissipated before the nearby chair leg pried itself out of the floor. Before she had a chance to execute the dying girl, the sirens reached a roar as the sound of tires echoed into the house. "Damn it all," the demon cursed as the floating hunk of wood clattered to the floor. With little other recourse, the bloodied girl quickly approached the nearest wall before passing through it as if it wasn't there at all.

* * *

><p>Not too far away, a shadowy figure approached the drive of a mansion. A woman dressed in loose, ornate robes that harkened to that of an old fortuneteller reached out and pressed the call button. Within a few seconds, a young girl's bandaged face appeared on the bottom half of the screen. "I have no idea how you managed to get yourself mixed up in something like this, but you have a dire spirit problem," the woman warned. "I'm here to help."<p>

Chiyo rushed towards the foyer to greet the mysterious guest. As she reached the stairs, she came across the strange sight of Sakaki and Kagura sitting together on the steps. Sakaki was leaning against the banister and Kagura was leaning on Sakaki. "Um, excuse me," Chiyo interrupted the cozy duo. "That person is here."

Sakaki and Kagura got to their feet just as the front door opened. "We've got some work to do," the middle-aged woman in mystic garb gravely announced as she entered the luxurious house.

"It's you!" Sakaki instantly recognized the mysterious woman that once gave her fortune and helped her to befriend Rin.

"Well… that complicates things," the woman complained as she recognized the tall girl. "A little birdie told me that my aid was desperately needed here. I had no idea I would be a rat in a trap."

"I-I'm sorry," a very confused Chiyo apologized. "I… don't really understand what's going on here. Are you here to help us?"

"It would appear as though I am, whether I want to or not," the woman forced a smile. "I'm not disinclined to help my fellow man, but I do prefer to profit from my endeavors."

The room instantly adopted a chill as the bell in Sakaki's pocket sounded. "You will!" Sakaki announced. "To… ensure your… full cooperation… you will be fully compensated," she relayed a message from her feline friend. "Please help us."

The woman's smile widened into a genuine one. "Well now, if that's the case, I'm happy to be of service. A favor from your friend is worth more than you might think."

"She's here!" Chiyo happily announced as she burst into her room.

Everyone eagerly waited as the middle-aged mystic marched in. Most of the room wasn't impressed with the walking cliché. "This is the aid we have been desperately awaiting? Some bizarre fortune teller?" Reiji spat. "Eimi, Jack, what do you think?"

"I sensed that transient spirit for a moment a minute ago, but aside from that, nothing," Eimi revealed.

Jack wore a knowing grin as he critically eyed the woman. "You… you don't really belong here, do you? Something is amiss."

"You are astute," the woman praised. "You can call me Gray."

"Miss Gray, can you save my friend or not?" Yomi got straight to the point.

"I've got a pretty good picture of what's going on, and, honestly, I don't know," the woman admitted as she and the rest gathered around the low table. "That spirit is unbelievably strong. It would help if I knew exactly what it is we are dealing with."

Although Yomi was already sick of reliving the events over and over, she jumped right in to inform the strange woman of the events thus far. Everyone put their own spin from time to time as they relayed everything from the opening of the closet to the humiliating retreat suffered by the would-be spirit hunters. "That… narrows it down," Gray allowed as she let out a sigh. "Things look quite grim. I've done my own reconnaissance, and what I've found is even worse than what you have experienced."

"I am loathe to discover how this fiasco could possibly worsen," Reiji complained.

"You confronted it while it rested," Gray announced, "It feeds at night."

Jack cringed. "Feeds?"

"You say that many more people have gone missing than were killed by the spirit's rampage," the fortune teller recapped the briefing she had gotten from the group. "Those that are missing shared a fate worse than those murdered. It seems as though this spirit grows its power by devouring people, body and soul. Worse still is the fact that as it grows its power, it will cease to have a use for a vessel."

"What are you saying!?" Yomi demanded.

"It currently needs a vessel, likely to secure its hold on this realm or to weather some adverse condition for it. Once it is strong enough, it will no longer need that anchor or shelter," Gray solemnly explained. "It will devour the girl—body and soul—to further its power once it has no more use for her."

"We-you have to do something!" Yomi desperately urged. "Go save her!"

Gray shook her head. "We don't entirely know what we're dealing with, but whatever it is, it remains more powerful under the moon's light. We will only strike during daylight."

"What do you offer us?" Jack asked. "We already got trounced."

The woman smiled as she held out her hand. With a nearly imperceptible motion, nearly a dozen shimmering blue gems dropped from her hand dangling by silver chains. "You may borrow these for the duration of the ordeal."

Everyone passed around the trinkets as they closely examined them. The smooth, teardrop-shaped jewels seemed to be ice cold to the touch and distorted the light around them to give the appearance of a blue aura. "What are they?" Chiyo asked.

"Angel's tears," Gray revealed. "So long as you possess that gem, no creature will be capable of possessing you. This way, the spirit won't have the option of possessing another body once it has been expelled from the girl."

"You seem to think that we can actually exorcise her," Jack complained as he adorned the necklace.

"Oh, I might have something to help you get it done," Gray sagaciously announced as she took the measure of the spirit hunters. "Do take care; most of these are more valuable than you." She first turned to Haruka, "You prefer a bow, do you not?"

Haruka nodded, "Yeah."

Gray smiled as she reached into her robes and pulled out several slips of paper. "Tie these to your arrows," she instructed.

"Spirit wards?" Haruka asked as she accepted the strips of paper.

"You use the power of God to weaken spirits, correct?" Gray asked as she turned her attention to Eimi. Seemingly from nowhere, the woman produced an old, leather-bound bible and a crucifix made from wood and bronze that seemed just as ancient. "These should aid you well."

Eimi carefully drew her fingertips across the aged wood and stained bronze of the crucifix. "It's… so elegant," she breathed as she turned her attention to the worn bible. As soon as she opened it, however, she faltered. "I, um… I can't read English."

"It's in Latin," Gray corrected.

"I can't read Latin," Eimi reiterated her impediment.

The strange woman breathed a sigh. "You know the scriptures by heart, do you not?"

"O-oh, sure," Eimi blushed. "That'll work?"

Instead of lingering with Eimi, Gray zeroed in her focus on Jack. "You are much more difficult to read. You seem capable of using any and all means to dispatch spirits."

"It's why I go by Jack, Jack-of-all-trades."

"You seem to be worth your salt," she judged as she produced a small trinket from her sleeve. "Allow this to be lost or broken and you will not be forgiven," she warned as she placed the object in Jack's palm. It was an old dagger that seemed little more than a spike carved from ivory.

As soon as Jack wrapped his fingers around the weapon, he felt an otherworldly power surge through the object. "Now, _this_ is something," he smiled as he twirled the ivory through his fingers.

"It was carved from a unicorn's horn," Gray claimed. "It is a one-of-a-kind."

"Not entirely sure I believe that," Jack dismissed, "but this thing is definitely powerful. We might just be able to pull this off after all."

"We should strike tomorrow at midmorning, once the sun has risen into the sky," Gray suggested. "Until then we need to rest and prepare."

While the spirit hunters discussed strategy, the rest broke off to lament and reflect. Poor Yomi was on the brink of tears at the news that Tomo was on the menu and that it was only a matter of time until she was devoured by the vengeful spirit. "How're y'all holdin' up?" Osaka asked as she sat on Chiyo's bed next to the orange-haired girl.

Yomi just shook her head as despondently sat on the futon she had been sleeping in.

"Hey, cheer up," Chiyo encouraged as she pointed to the spirit hunters. "They think they can do it now. Soon they'll take care of the spirit and everything will be okay." Even Chiyo wasn't convinced by her own words, but she still had to try. "We-we have to keep hope alive."

"I'm going to go take a shower," Yomi muttered as she staggered to her feet.

"Should we… let her go alone?" Chiyo tentatively asked as soon as Yomi was out of earshot.

"We're safe in here," Sakaki asserted.

"That's not exactly what I meant," Chiyo squeaked as she watched Yomi close the door behind her.

Kagura growled as she scratched the back of her head. "I forgot to apologize to her," she kicked herself. "I'll go talk to her."

Before Kagura could take off, Sakaki grabbed her shoulder. "Try-I mean…" she fumbled as she struggled to organize her feelings into thoughts. "Don't make it worse."

Kagura nodded as she gently pulled Sakaki's hand away. "I know."

"Tread carefully," Sakaki reiterated as Kagura retreated.

The tomboy managed to catch up to Yomi before she got to the bathroom. "Hey, Yomi!" she hollered after the brunette before running up to her.

"What do _you_ want?" Yomi venomously spat.

Kagura had to take a deep breath to allow the accosting comment to pass. "Look, I meant to apologize to you," she explained before she bowed to Yomi. "I'm sorry for attacking you. I really am. I was… so blinded by my pain that I didn't notice yours."

"Leave me alone," Yomi icily brushed Kagura off.

Kagura grit her teeth as she stood erect and headed Yomi off again. "Don't suffer alone!" she ordered. "I talked to Sakaki and it really helped me. Everyone here is hurting, too. You don't have to bear it all by yourself."

"Shut up!" Yomi snapped as she gave Kagura her second slap that evening. As soon as Kagura whipped her head back around to glare at her, Yomi deepened her own glare. "You think I want to feel better? You don't know anything!" she shouted before purposefully shoving Kagura out of her way.

"Fine! Be that way!" Kagura yelled after Yomi before doing an about-face and marching back to Chiyo's room.

As she trudged back to her friends in defeat, the small group instantly recognized that things did not go well. "Is Yomi… how is she?" Chiyo gently queried.

"I… I screwed up," Kagura admitted as she rubbed her sore cheek.

Meanwhile, a disrobing Yomi ruminated her lament. "I'm such a failure," she muttered. She probably would have wept had her emotions not been so removed from herself that she could barely even recognize them. _I let her open that door… I practically encouraged her to,_ she continued to blame herself. _And I left her behind. I ran away and left her to be possessed by that monster_. Yomi disdainfully tossed her clothes aside and removed her glasses. _Worst of all,_ Yomi woefully resigned, _worst of all, I can't do anything to help her. I have to sit by and do nothing while everyone else works to save her._ The brunette felt no relief as the warm water began to cascade over her. _Just when Tomo needs me the most, I can't do anything at all to help her,_ she lugubriously admitted to herself. _Such a worthless failure…._

Osaka sighed as she flopped back onto Chiyo's bed. "Do y'all think Yomi's really okay?"

"Yomi will pull through," Chiyo confidently predicted. "As soon as Tomo is safe, Yomi will go right back to normal."

"Think Tomo's okay?" Osaka continued.

"The fortune teller seems to think we still have a little time," Sakaki claimed. "Tomo should be okay so long as we get her exorcised."

"And if we don't?" Osaka played the devil's advocate.

Chiyo shook her head. "You heard Miss Gray, when the spirit gets strong enough… Tomo will be—"

"We can't let that happen!" Sakaki interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest.

Kagura grunted as she clenched her jaw. "If… _that_ happened to Tomo, I don't think Yomi would be able to handle it."

"Are you really sure Yomi is okay?" Chiyo asked.

Kagura shook her head. "I'm sure that she's not okay. Not right now, at least."

"I can't stand sitting here and doing nothing," Chiyo lamented as she cast a glance at the group of spirit hunters.

"What else can we do?" Kagura asked rhetorically.

A good twenty minutes passed before Yomi staggered back into the room. By then, the spirit hunters had gone their separate ways, most of them gathering in a nearby guest room. "Shower's free," Yomi muttered as she pushed her way past her friends and sat down on the futon next to Chiyo's bed.

"Yomi… are you all right?" Chiyo squeaked.

Yomi slowly shook her head. "N-no," she managed to choke out just before breaking into tears. Everyone quickly gathered on Yomi as she began to sob uncontrollably.

* * *

><p>AN: Of course you realize, this means war...or at least a rematch between the hunters and the dreaded spirit.


	11. Desperation

A/N: I know this chapter is a bit late, but the flip side is that the next chapter is already well over halfway done! I'll try to pick up the pace a bit, not only on this, but my other stories as well.

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><p>Sinister Scourge Chapter 11<p>

* * *

><p>"Do or die time," Jack claimed with a grin as he stared at the mansion he was chased out of just a day earlier. The rest of the group flanked him, all of them armed with their new tools of the trade.<p>

"This time you can do it, right?" Yomi desperately urged. "You can save Tomo?"

Reiji rolled his eyes. "All this woman has brought is new toys for them to play with. The likelihood of a different outcome is infinitesimally miniscule."

"Don't mind the lapdog's yipping," Jack scoffed as he twirled the unicorn-horn dagger in his fingers. "He barks so loudly because he has no bite. The rest of us are stronger this time around."

"As is your opponent," Gray pointed out. "Do not be overconfident. If we keep our wits about us, we have a good chance of victory."

"We'll go an' do everythin' we can tah bring yer friend back safe an' sound," Haruka assured as the hunters anxiously awaited the assault.

"Good luck," Sakaki urged as the group of five crossed the street to the enormous gate securing the perimeter of the mansion's grounds.

This time, Yomi was not content to just standing back and watching. She defiantly trailed after the hunters. "I'm going, too," she sternly announced.

"Hold yer horses, it'ain't safe fer y'all tah go in," Haruka denied as Jack and Reiji worked to open the gate.

"Try and stop me," Yomi challenged.

"Your foolhardy interference only serves to decrease our already non-existent probability of success," Reiji claimed as soon as the gate was open.

Yomi grit her teeth. "I _have_ to do something! I won't stand idly by anymore! I can't!"

"You really want to see her like that?" Jack tried to dissuade the stubborn brunette.

"I want to see her, no matter what," Yomi steadfastly refused.

"Look, it's better fer everyone if y'all don't come with us," Haruka pleaded. "Please, jus' stay outta tha way an' wait with tha rest of yer friends."

Seeing Yomi refusing to so much as consider faltering, Gray raised a hand and slipped it under the bespectacled girl's glasses and pressed it into her face. Before Yomi could so much as let out a single word of protest, her knees buckled and she slumped to the ground. "She will awaken in a matter of minutes," Gray affirmed loud enough to put everyone at ease. "It doesn't take a fortune teller to see that she will be angry when she comes to. You should probably take her home."

Sakaki and Kagura rushed to scoop the unconscious girl up off the ground. Jack spoke up while the duo were busy with Yomi, "What the hell kind of magic was that?"

"It's an old trick, but only works on those who are unwary," Gray did her best to explain without revealing anything.

Reiji wore an approving smile. "It would appear as though your capabilities exceed my initial expectations."

"And here I thought you were supposed to be the clever one," Jack derided with a knowing grin as Kagura and Sakaki carted Yomi away. "She made a good show of it. That's for sure. But the feat was only to conceal her own actions to make them appear mystical," he elaborated as he measured Gray's unwavering demeanor. "She merely threw something in the girl's face. A glorified, albeit effective, version of knocking someone out with chloroform."

"His knowledge may be impressive, but his eyes betray him," Gray praised Jack as Reiji glared at the fortune teller. "You, however, are no fool."

"Ah don't really give ah damn about yer tricks!" Haruka barked. "Have y'all forgotten about tha horrific monster we gotta fight?"

"Let's go," Reiji growled as he led the march towards the mansion. As the spirit hunters walked towards the ominous doors of the mansion, Sakaki and the rest began to carry Yomi back to Chiyo's home.

Haruka halted just outside the doors to the mansion. "Hey, do we even have ah real plan this time 'round?"

"Yeah," Jack confidently claimed. "We go in there and kick its ethereal ass."

"Ready?" Reiji asked as he prepared to open the door. Haruka notched an arrow, Eimi opened the old bible and recited verses by heart, and Jack just nodded as he grinned and twirled his new weapon between his fingers. Reiji flung the door open and allowed Jack to lead the charge inside and only followed after everyone else entered.

As the group gathered in the foyer, a slow, sarcastic clap sounded through the halls. "I really have to applaud your persistence," that familiar, inhuman voice called out as Tomo walked out to greet the group. Once again leaning over the rail of the second floor, she wore a sinister grin. "I won't underestimate you again, but you certainly seem to underestimate me."

"Time to give it up," Jack challenged.

Tomo held out her open hand over the rail palm-side up. "Playtime is over!" the monster roared as it slowly began to close Tomo's hand. As it did so, the floor around the group lurched up and began to fold in on the group.

Haruka quickly launched her arrow at her own feet. Instead of just sinking into the wood, it made a bright flash a couple of meters in diameter as it impacted. The purifying light ceased the wood's unnatural movement, causing it to crash haphazardly to the ground instead of encompassing and crushing the group. "We ain't goin' down that easily!" Haruka defiantly proclaimed as she nocked another arrow and sent it flying directly at Tomo.

As the arrow sailed towards the possessed girl, she raised an arm and it dragged much of the wall below her up to block the attack. Again the arrow let out a burst of light thanks to the attached spirit ward. The light managed to pierce the protective wall of wood and envelop Tomo. The demonic voice let out an agonized roar as Tomo stumbled backwards. By the time it recovered, Jack had already managed to reach her. As he reached into his jacket to pull out a ward to try and seal the monster, Tomo slapped a hand against the wall behind her. It caused the beams of wood inside to explode, sending a violent shower of debris at Jack. Instead of jumping back and out of harm's way, he lunged through the brutal shower of splinters and managed to sink the unicorn-horn dagger deep into Tomo's left forearm as he pressed the spirit ward against her collarbone.

The spirit managed to pull away from Jack and sent him flying away by grabbing the railing, causing it to thrust itself between the duo and sweeping Jack back and away. "You insufferable worms!" it roared as the ward bust into black fire and burned away. She staggered back as Haruka used another arrow to stop the banister's movement. "Arrogant!" it barked as it seemed to struggle to focus. As Jack approached again, Tomo phased through the floor in a blatant retreat.

"It's weakening!" Gray asserted as she shuffled about the support group. "Press the attack!"

Tomo walked through the wall and back into the foyer at the level of the unprotected support group. "Die!" the spirit roared as it thrust both arms forward, sending most of the wall behind her flying at the group.

"Cleanse!" Gray shouted as she held out a small artifact dangling from a silver chain. The artifact shattered as it sent a shockwave of purifying energy. The debris not only stopped approaching the group, but blasted back towards Tomo who sunk to her knees as the shockwave passed through her.

Feebly holding up the arm with a small puncture-wound from Jack's dagger, the debris was influenced to crash all around her. "You… YOU!" the beast struggled to roar as it seemed to be having a hard time catching its breath. As Jack darted down the stairs, Tomo stumbled to her feet and staggered away towards the opposite staircase. Before Jack managed to catch up to her, she reached the wall and sent a much feebler shower of debris at him to slow him down.

"Running out of steam already?" Jack derided as he brushed off some of the dust and splinters littering his body and clothing. "I'm hardly even scratched up," he bluffed, despite being rather bloodied by the first attack.

Tomo again walked through the wall in an apparent retreat. This time, she reappeared by rising through the floor next to an ornate pillar near the group of spirit hunters. Pressing a hand against the pillar, she moved to send another attack at the group, but Haruka beat her to the punch by sending an arrow at the pillar as she touched it. The pillar did little more than fall apart as Tomo collapsed to the ground from the purifying light. Again, she passed through the floor before anyone could get too close."

"You can't run forever!" Jack baited.

Suddenly, another pillar exploded towards the group, but the largest hunks of stone succumbed to gravity before reaching the group. Only pebbles and shards reached the group, causing little more than slight abrasions. Tomo grinned before turning around hobbling towards the far wall. As soon as she made it there, she slapped her hands against the wall. Again the insides of the wall shot out towards the group, but didn't make it far as Haruka launched an arrow into the flying debris. "Surrender! There ain't no way y'all can win!"

"No, something is amiss," Reiji claimed as Tomo retreated through the wall. "It isn't putting forth all of its efforts. It bides its time."

"Ah trap?" Haruka queried.

Reiji glanced about the wide open room to discern just what the spirit could be plotting. Jack, meanwhile, regrouped with the rest. "I'm getting sick of this game of cat and mouse. I'm just hoping I can catch her before there's nothing but rubble left."

Jack's words sparked an insight in Reiji. "We need to leave! Now!"

"Going so soon?" the spirit mocked as it appeared again, the wall exploding as it walked through it. The debris again fell short of the group, but this time the whole building began to shake.

"It's compromising the stability of the building by targeting the supports!" Reiji warned.

"I'm not done!" Jack refused to let it go as he charged after Tomo, only to have her disappear through another wall.

"It's gunna drop tha ceiling on us!" Haruka barked as the room shook and bits of dust and debris rained down. "We need tah get outta here right now!"

Jack growled as he looked to the crumbling ceiling. "We'll take the fight outside!" he conceded.

The group quickly headed to the door, only to find it sealed by the spirit's dark power. Instead of finding a new path, Gray slipped the ward free from Haruka's nocked arrow and pressed it against the door. After a flash of purifying light, the door easily opened. "Hurry!" Gray urged as the building shook and roared.

The spirit hunters managed to clear the building in time to watch the roof collapse inward and a plume of dust belch out through the collapsing walls. "That was close!" Eimi marveled as she clutched the old bible and crucifix to her chest.

"Don't stop chanting!" Jack desperately urged. "It's not over!"

Before Eimi had a chance to do anything, a cluster of rubble shot out of the crumbled remains of the mansion at her. Haruka quickly intercepted the attack, but failed to remember that Gray had just taken the spirit ward off of that particular arrow. While the defensive attack sapped the assault of its energy, it failed to stop it as the debris violently crashed into Eimi. It sent the poor girl flying to the ground over a meter from where she had been standing. "Eimi!" Haruka panicked as she drew a fresh arrow and rushed to her friend's side.

Tomo walked out of the settling dust with a hand on her newfound injury and her face contorted into anger. "You… worthless insects," the inhuman voice ground out. "I don't know what that weapon is or where you got it, but if you think this is enough…enough to force me from this vessel then you are even more foolish than I thought. You will die!" As the spirit shouted the last sentence debris swept up from the rubble and encircled Tomo providing a spinning wall of protection.

"She's breathin'!" Haruka shouted over the din caused by the swirling rubble as she held her limp friend in her arms.

Jack growled as he contemplated how to pierce the barrier. "I've got Eimi," he asserted as he moved over to the two girls. "Use your arrows to take that bitch down!"

Haruka gingerly set Eimi down and grabbed her bow and arrow. "Yah bastard! Ah ain't holdin' back no more! Ah'll kill tha girl if Ah hav'tah!" she roared as she let an arrow fly. The arrow impacted the swirling debris, erupting in a flash of light. The purifying light caused a swath of debris to fall, but stopped short of reaching Tomo. The gaping hole in the barrier nearly instantly repaired itself as the spirit drew fresh material from the rubble. Haruka tried to wear down the barrier with a volley of arrows, but it quickly became apparent that the spirit could effortlessly repair the damage faster than Haruka could inflict it. "It ain't workin'!"

Tomo could be seen wearing a smug grin through the whirling debris as she outstretched her arms. "My turn!"

The group prepared themselves for an onslaught, but nothing seemed to happen. Unnoticed by the group, the fence behind them began to shake. The steel tines decorating the fence managed to rip themselves free and float towards the heedless group. As the metal spears positioned themselves to skewer the group, a woman's voice accompanied a bestial roar, "Enough of this farce!" Tomo turned around at the sound of the roar just in time to see a tail as thick as a barrel tear through her menacing barrier and send her flying several meters through the air. "Flee from here!" the giant bakeneko warned as the evil spirit caught Tomo's fall by interlacing the metal tines into a trough and intercepting the falling girl, gently setting her on her feet.

"Insolent bitch!" the monstrous voice condemned as the tines reflexively flew at a blistering speed towards the bakeneko. As Tomo turned to confront the other monster, she found nothing more than dozens of spears sticking out of the rubble. The bakeneko had vanished from reality entirely. "Graah!" it roared as it turned to scan the yard for its human victims. Much like the giant cat, they had vanished from sight. "Damn you all! I'll kill you!"

Not too far away, the spirit hunters regrouped in an alley. "There ain't no way we can take that thing," Haruka surrendered. "It's too strong!"

Jack peeked around the corner to try to spy Tomo amongst the rubble, but could hardly believe his eyes. "I… I hate to admit it, but I agree. Get a load of that." While Haruka refused to leave the injured Eimi's side, Reiji and Gray joined Jack to discover a chilling sight. The mansion that had been rubble only seconds ago was standing as pristine as the day it was built. Even the fence's tines were back in place. "What's plan C?"

"Where did that bakeneko come from?" Reiji demanded, not caring about Jack's concerns. "It helped us, why?"

"That's irrelevant," Jack refuted. "Our enemy is the spirit in that girl. We have to find a way to take it down."

The group's discussion was cut off by a feminine scream, "Augh! It hurts! It hurts!" Eimi cried as she finally came to.

"Hey, are yah all right?" Haruka panicked as she tried to comfort Eimi.

"No!" Eimi grimaced as she placed her right hand over her left arm. "My arm!"

"Is it broken?" Jack asked as he came to the scene alongside Gray and Reiji.

Eimi slowly nodded. "I-I think so," she choked out. "It really hurts!"

"We need to get her to a doctor," Gray claimed as she produced a cell phone.

* * *

><p>"Trust mah cousin," Osaka tried to calm a seething Yomi. "She an' 'er friends'll bring Tomo back safe an' sound any minute now."<p>

"Shut up!" Yomi bit back.

"It… it was for your own good," Chiyo squeaked. "We had bring you back here because it was a dangerous situation. You could have gotten hurt!"

Even though Yomi knew that Chiyo meant well, she still couldn't stop herself from lashing out. "I don't care about that! I don't care even if I die! If it means saving Tomo then-then it doesn't matter what I have to do! I'll do it!"

While Chiyo and Osaka tried to calm Yomi down, Sakaki suddenly heard a distinct chime ring in her ears. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the silver bell. As she held the bell in her hand, a voice echoed in her head. After several seconds, Sakaki covered her mouth as she telepathically received the bad news from her bakeneko friend. The tall girl suddenly pulled Kagura aside as Chiyo and Osaka feebly tried to calm Yomi down. "What do we do?" she cautiously asked the tomboy low enough not to be heard by the rest.

"Huh?"

"Haruka… the spirit hunters, they failed," Sakaki revealed as she hung her head. "They couldn't save Tomo. They'll be here soon. What do we do?"

"What?" Kagura barely managed to keep her voice in a whisper. "How on earth do you know that?"

Sakaki shook her head as the bell in her pocked continued to emit a soft chime only she could hear. "It doesn't matter. What do we tell Yomi?"

Kagura grit her teeth as she came to a quick decision. "The truth," she said loud enough for everyone to hear as she turned to Yomi and the rest. "Bad news," she announced. "Sakaki says that the spirit hunters couldn't save Tomo. They'll be back empty-handed soon."

"Oh, no," Chiyo fretted as Yomi shook with emotion.

"I should have been there!" Yomi snapped. "I could have done something! This is your fault!"

Although Kagura audibly growled at the brunette's childish lashing out, she bit her tongue. "What do we do now?" she managed to choke out in an even tone.

As Sakaki continued to get bad news from her friend, she struggled to hold back tears. She suddenly bolted from the room to prevent anyone from see her distress.

"Eh?" Kagura puzzled as she lost her backup.

"I'm going back there! Alone if I have to!" Yomi asserted.

Kagura managed to grab Yomi's wrist before she made it to the door. "All you'll do is get yourself killed!"

"I told you: I don't care!" Yomi brashly yelled as she wrenched her hand free, stormed out, and slammed the door in Kagura's face.

Kagura looked to Chiyo and Osaka for direction on what to do next. Both of them just had their heads hung in defeat and resignation. "Damn it all!" Kagura grunted as she chased after Yomi. As soon as she made it out the door, she found a bizarre sight in the hallway.

Sakaki roughly slammed Yomi against the wall. "You will wait here!" she forcibly ordered. "There is still time!"

Yomi was about to protest when she spotted Kagura. Realizing that she was defeated her anger quickly morphed back into anguish. "I can't wait anymore!" she pleaded as tears welled up in her eyes. "Tomo is… Tomo's going to die!"

Sakaki glanced over to Kagura before letting Yomi up. "The spirit hunters are desperate," she revealed. "They—"

Before Sakaki could finish, Reiji turned a corner into the hallway flanked by Gray, Jack, and Haruka. "We need to talk, now," he gravely ordered.

The group dragged a reluctant Yomi back to Chiyo's room where the mood had become more than a little dour. "We all obviously didn't manage tah save yer friend," Haruka announced as soon as everyone gathered. "It was still too strong fer us tah handle. Eimi's got ah broken arm an' a concussion—an' that's tha best-case scenario. She's at tha hospital now."

"I'm sorry," Chiyo offered her condolences.

"So we came here tah tell y'all that we're officially resigning. We can't handle this job fer yah. We don't even know anyone that can," Haruka said with a deep bow. "We all're right sorry fer our incompetence."

"What about Tomo!?" Yomi demanded.

"We may no longer be employed by you troglodytes, but we have yet to resolve our issues with that spirit. We just aren't taking orders from the lot of you anymore."

Kagura tilted her head a bit as she donned a confused expression, "What? I don't understand." Most of the rest of the group nodded a bit as they shared in the sentiment.

"That spirit cannot be allowed to continue its rampage, but we are unable to exorcise it to stop it. We will be forced to stop it by other means," Gray revealed.

"What—" Yomi started, only to be cut off by Reiji.

"The only recourse is to expel the spirit by destroying the host," Reiji icily stated.

It took a moment for what Reiji said to sink in, but as soon as it did Yomi bolted to her feet as Kagura and Sakaki barely managed to hold her back. "Over my dead body!"

"Please understand, this is tha only thing we can do tah help yer friend," Haruka morosely yet firmly explained as Yomi continued to rave and struggle. "Her very soul'll be lost if we don't do som'thin' tah save 'er. She might lose her life, but she'll get tah keep 'er body an' soul. You'll still be able tah give 'er ah funeral an' service. It's tha best we can do fer 'er."

"There… you have to be able to do something else!" Chiyo protested.

Haruka shook her head. "It's too strong fer us tah handle otherwise. If we don't do somethin', then that spirit'll devour 'er body and soul."

"You're just going to kill her!?" Yomi screamed. "You're going to murder Tomo?! For what!?"

"Tah save many other lives," Haruka answered. "Ah'm sorry about all this. Ah really am."

"You can't do that! It's murder!" Yomi vehemently argued. "I won't let you!"

Instead of dealing with the girl that was very nearly foaming at the mouth, Haruka turned again to Chiyo. "We'd like tah continue stayin' here at yer place, but we can understand if y'all don't want us here." Chiyo seemed to falter as she looked to her friends. Haruka used the opportunity to sweeten the deal. "If y'all let us stay, we can keep yah up tah date on what we're doin'. Right now we're waitin' tah see if Eimi'll be able tah help us before sundown."

Chiyo prayed a silent apology to Yomi as she turned back to Haruka. "You can stay, but please, try to find another way."

"Ah wish there was another way," Haruka claimed as she glanced at the furious brunette. "It might be best if we wait in the guest room," she dismissed the group as they headed for the door.

"I'll call that detective before I let you hurt Tomo!" Yomi vowed as the group retreated form the room. As soon as the spirit hunters left, Sakaki and Kagura let Yomi go. The bespectacled girl immediately proceeded to grab Osaka by the collar. "You brought them here! You said they would save Tomo!" Yomi raged as she throttled the innocent girl.

Sakaki was quick to pry Yomi off of Osaka. "There might still be a way," she informed Yomi, depleting the struggling girl of her fury. Though Yomi had ceased thrashing, Sakaki kept a firm grip on her wrists. "My friend wants to see you, in private," the tall girl firmly claimed as she looked to the rest of her friends to make sure they got the message as well. "She says that we might be able to save Tomo with your help."

Yomi just stared blankly back at Sakaki until the tall girl started pulling her along. Only once she found herself following Sakaki down the stairs did she finally start to sort out her conflicting feelings. "Save Tomo? I can save Tomo's life? I can get rid of the spirit and Tomo doesn't have to get hurt?"

Sakaki stopped and spun around as she stepped off the last stair. "No," she firmly denied as she locked gazes with Yomi. "You might be able to save Tomo with her help, but Tomo… it's the only chance to save her life," the tall girl backtracked as her confidence evaporated. "She will explain it to you," Sakaki turned around and led Yomi towards the door. "The last resort."

Yomi blindly followed Sakaki out the door as her muddled thoughts raced. Suddenly, she finally noticed something she should have questioned some time ago. Sakaki knew that the group of spirit hunters had failed before they had returned, but how? She was never on a phone. And now her mystery friend has another cockamamie plan to save Tomo? How would Sakaki even know of such a plan? The tall girl seemed to know an awful lot of things that she shouldn't have. Yomi came to a halt in a secluded part of Chiyo's yard. "What're you trying to pull?" she accused. "You were alone with the rest of us. How can you possibly know what this 'friend' of yours has planned? How did you even know that Osaka's cousin failed?"

"Because I told her so," a woman's voice echoed.

A bit startled, Yomi took a step back as she searched for the voice's origin. "Wha-who are you?"

"Calm yourself, human," the voice chided as a sleek, black cat leapt down from a nearby tree branch and sat next to Sakaki. Of course, Sakaki seized the opportunity to crouch down and pet the feline. "We have much to discuss," the disembodied voice continued.

"There's nothing to discuss!" Yomi countered as she gave up looking for the owner of the mystery voice and simply yelled at the sky. "Can you save Tomo or not?!"

"Well now, that depends on you, human."

Yomi was about to retort when she suddenly realized that a voice had incessantly called her "human" before. The same voice had aided her during Detective Akiyama's interrogation. The same voice the spirit hunters had accused of being a spirit. "You! You're a spirit! And… Sakaki's friend? I don't…"

The cat suddenly fixed its gaze on the brunette as its jaws began to move. "How typical, for a human." Yomi took a hesitant step backwards as the cat stood and marched towards her. With each step the beast appeared to grow. "For a race that relies so much on its eyes, you humans seem to see only what you want to see."

The next thing Yomi knew, she was standing eye-to-eye with a gigantic, talking cat. She ended up tripping backwards onto her rear as she was overcome with fear. "B-bakemono!"

Growing irritated with Yomi, the monstrous cat plodded back to Sakaki as it shrank back to the size of a normal housecat. "Is that the extent of your determination?" it mocked Yomi.

"Be nice," Sakaki chided the monster.

Yomi stared back at the cat a moment as her mind reeled. She quickly came to an irrefutable truth. Only one thing mattered: Tomo. Climbing to her feet, her expression turned from fear towards defiance and determination. "Monster or not—it doesn't matter! Can you save Tomo or can't you?"

"There is that fire," the bakeneko said in an amused tone. "Can I save her?" she repeated Yomi's words in a more serious voice. "No. But with my help, you may be able to."

"I'll do anything!" Yomi immediately claimed.

"Will you, human? Would you kill the possessed girl with your own hands?"

Yomi quickly deflated as she wondered just how much this monster understood what she meant. "That-that's not the point! I want to save her! That means she doesn't die! Not by anyone's hands!"

"I cannot exorcise the human, neither can the spirit hunters," the monster claimed. "Since there is no way to force the spirit from its host, the only option is to have the spirit leave of its own will. Killing the vessel will do this, but there may be another way. You, with your determination, are the best candidate for it."

Yomi nodded, confident that she had made the bakeneko understand. "Whatever it takes."

"It takes you killing your friend, human," the monster-cat challenged.

"How!? How does that save her life?!"

"The spirit grows strong and restless. It spent a great deal of power to subdue the host, so it is reluctant to leave before it must. However, it will no longer require a host for long. Should the host become unsuitable, it may be coaxed to leave," the monster explained in a grave manner. "This spirit has a bond to that body. Any pain the vessel feels, the spirit suffers as well. As that body becomes damaged, it becomes more painful and harder to manipulate. If you inflict a mortal wound on the host while this spirit is strong and confident, it may brazenly leave. You humans and your medicine may then be able to revive the body. You may not. Success is not assured, but it is the only remaining chance to spare that human's life."

Yomi shook her head. "I… why me? Haruka and the others will be the ones to-to deal with Tomo."

"The spirit must be strong for it to be confident enough to leave the dying body. That means facing it under the moon's shadow," the monster elaborated. "The spirit hunters lack the capability of inflicting a mortal blow without executing the human under those circumstances, as am I. I could effortlessly rip her in half, but then your medicine would not restore her."

"Then… then how can I…?"

"Allow me to possess you," the cat enticed as its eyes glowed a radiant yellow.

Yomi felt a primal fear tear through her as the bakeneko's unnatural gaze pierced her. "B-but wouldn't Jack or—"

"No!" the monster immediately denied as the glow faded from her eyes. "That group is too jaded to allow me to possess them. It must be you. This child lacks the resolve to willfully attack her friend, as do the other humans here. You, who will do whatever it takes to save her, may have such resolve. Do you? Will you allow me to possess you and then use my strength to beat your friend to the brink of life and death?"

Yomi just shook her head in disbelief. "Y-you can't ask me to…"

"The choice is yours, human," the cat coldly claimed. "Allow your friend to be killed by the spirit hunters, or attack her yourself to either save or kill her."

"Yomi…" Sakaki sympathetically mumbled.

Yomi balled her hands into white-knuckled fists as she shook. "N-no," she begged as tears spilled down her cheeks. "There has to be another way."

"All of the options are lain bare before you," the bakeneko denied. "Your action or inaction will seal the fate of the possessed girl. To prevent her death at the hands of the spirit hunters you must decide now. They are curious, scared, regretful, and angry. They will not delay much longer. What will it be? Will you stand by and watch her perish, or will you seal her fate with your own hands?"

Yomi shook her head as tears continued to fall. "I can't… I can't just stand by and-and-and d-do nothing anymore!" she asserted. "B-but to attack Tomo—hurt her…I- I can't… I just, I can't."

"There exist only two paths. Act, or do not act," the black cat reproached Yomi. "You must choose to fight, or to do nothing."

The beleaguered girl closed her eyes as a thousand images of Tomo flashed through her mind. "If… if it can save Tomo," she said as her voice wavered. "If it's really… the-the only way… I'll do it."

"The will to do it is one thing," the cat replied. "The resolve to do so without hesitation—with a cold indifference—is another. You need to understand that the possessed girl's life will not be the only one on the line. If you hesitate, that spirit will kill you. I will kill the human to drive the spirit out if you fail," the monster heaped more pressure onto Yomi. "To save your friend, you must not hesitate. You must not show mercy. If you do, you will both die. Are you capable of that, human?"

Yomi hesitated before nodding. "I… if I have to-to hurt her… I don't want Tomo to suffer. I-I will do whatever i-it takes to… to make it quick."

"You accept my offer then?" the cat goaded as its eyes again glowed yellow.

"Yes." As soon as the girl said the word, the bakeneko sprinted away from Sakaki and towards Yomi. It leapt at Yomi, but stopped just short of her chest as a blue disc intercepted her leap. The cat's forehead pressed into the disc for a fraction of a second before a flash of light flung the monster to the ground with enough force to send it bouncing through the dirt several meters from Yomi.

"Rin!" Sakaki blurted out the monster's name as she rushed to her side.

The bakeneko recovered rather quickly as it got to its feet and shook off the blow. "That necklace. Remove it," she growled.

"Are you all right?" Sakaki fretted as Yomi tugged at the strap until she retrieved the gem into her palm.

"My only wound lies in my pride," Rin claimed as she watched Yomi duck under the strap and remove the necklace.

"I guess this really does work," Yomi muttered as she looked form the gem to the monster-cat. She used the heel of her palm to try the last of the tears before tossing the priceless gem to the dirt. "I'm ready!"

Rin again dashed towards Yomi. This time, the cat leapt at Yomi and disappeared into her chest. After the monster had passed into her, the brunette sunk to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself. "Hnng…nng!"

"Are you… okay?" Sakaki asked the afflicted girl.

"This feels… weird. Wrong!" Yomi choked out.

Yomi continued to speak, but the sound coming from her throat dramatically changed. "Do you think it easier on me, human?" Rin's voice escaped the struggling brunette's throat.

"Yomi? Rin?" Sakaki puzzled as she outstretched a hand to help her friend to her feet.

Yomi started to reach for the hand, but suddenly faltered and jerked her hand back close to her own body. "How? D-don't do that!"

"Do not fight me," Rin spoke. "We must work together to overpower the possessed girl."

"Don't… don't move my body!" Yomi argued. "Just… STOP!"

_Calm yourself, human_, Rin's voice echoed in Yomi's mind. _I cannot help you save your friend unless you embrace my presence. Resist me and I cannot lend you my power._

Yomi finally struggled to her feet. "Just… let me adjust."

_We do not have much time!_ Rin urged. _Have the girl bargain for time with the spirit hunters._

"Sa-Sakaki, go tell the spirit hunters to wait," Yomi requested as she reached up to her glasses. Her vision was blurry and adjusting them didn't seem to help. "We need to go… confront Tomo at sunset," she continued as she took the glasses off to inspect the lenses. As soon as the glasses left her field of vision, everything was clear. Crystal clear. Yomi looked around as she marveled at just how well she could see.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Sakaki asked as she watched Yomi's bizarre behavior.

Yomi shook her head a bit as she tried to clear her mind. It proved harder than expected. Her own thoughts were muddled by the thoughts experienced by the bakeneko. "I-I just need a minute to adjust," Yomi assured as she handed her glasses to Sakaki. "Just go tell them that they have to wait so we can save Tomo."

Sakaki hesitantly accepted the glasses before nodding and heading off towards Chiyo's house. She didn't feel entirely comfortable leaving her two friends there alone, but they must've needed some space. More importantly, she had to stop the spirit hunters from killing Tomo before Yomi and Rin could try to save her. She shook her head as she approached the front door. Thinking about what would have to be done was not something she wanted to dwell on. As the tall girl entered the mansion, she focused her mind onto the relatively benign subject of what she was supposed to do with the glasses and why Yomi had given them to her. By the time she reached the door to the guest room, Sakaki had given up on solving the mystery. Instead of knocking, she simply let herself in.

The three spirit hunters and the fortune teller were sitting around a table. As soon as the door had swung open, their discussion fell silent as all eyes looked to Sakaki. "What brings you here?" Gray queried with a careful measure.

"You have to wait to go back to the mansion," Sakaki asserted. "Until sunset."

"Perhaps you have suffered some sort of stroke," Reiji derisively spat. "That spirit's strength is amplified by nightfall. We must strike before dusk."

"You would be wise not to insult that particular girl," Gray warned.

"There is a new plan," Sakaki claimed. "You can prepare, but we need to wait until sunset to fight it. If we do that, we might be able to save Tomo."

"Look, Ah really hate tah break it tah yah, but we jus' can't do it," Haruka denied. "We tried everythin'. There's just nothin' we here can do fer yah. Sorry."

Jack and Gray were less critical of Sakaki. "Your friend has more to offer?" Jack asked.

Sakaki nodded. "She has a plan. It's… a last resort, but we still might be able to save Tomo's life."

"What friend? What plan?" Reiji skeptically pressed.

Before Sakaki could respond, Yomi burst through the doorway looking disheveled and irate. "You will do well to shut your impertinent mouth, human," she ordered in a voice not her own.

Haruka immediately scrambled for her bow as Reiji stood and backpedalled away from Yomi. "Get ahway from 'er, Sakaki! She's possessed!" Haruka warned as she scooped up her bow and nocked an arrow.

"I guess this is the part where we are supposed to thank you for saving our sorry asses, bakeneko," Jack greeted as he got to his feet. "But why have you possessed that girl?"

Haruka faltered as she lowered her weapon. "Bakeneko? This is the spirit that saved us?!"

"That spirit has been watching over the lot of you since before I arrived," Gray claimed. "Did you not notice it?"

"This arrangement is necessary…" Yomi spoke before her voice shifted back to her own.

"…to save Tomo! We have to fight her after dusk. If I-we, fight her then, we can save her."

Jack was quick to trust Yomi and the spirit possessing her. "All right, should be fun," he grinned, eager to work with the powerful spirit.

Gray wasn't so easily swayed. "Just how much extra risk are you exposing us to as you grasp at straws?"

"Ah wanna save tha poor girl, too. But Ah ain't gonna put everyone in danger jus' tah do it," Haruka reasoned. "Eimi already got hurt real bad!"

"You would not be breathing if not for my aid," Yomi contended again in Rin's voice. "You already owe me more than this request alone."

"We never requested your succor," Reiji argued. "You gave it of your own volition, therefore we owe you nothing."

In a flash Yomi had covered the distance between herself and Reiji. She wrapped a single hand around his throat and effortlessly lifted him off of the ground. "I will save Tomo, no matter what!" This time, the voice was not Yomi's nor Rin's, but a hybrid of the two. "You will help me save her, or you will have to get through us to get to her!"

Reiji struggled to speak, but couldn't force any air through Yomi's superhuman grip. Instead he was stuck kicking his feet and trying in vain to pry the hand away.

"Lettum go!" Haruka ordered as she again took aim at Yomi.

Yomi didn't flinch at Haruka's protest, but a voice from behind her caused her grip to slacken. "Stop it!" Sakaki begged.

As soon as Sakaki said that, Yomi's superhuman strength ebbed away and she felt her own arm fight against her will. Unable to maintain her dominance over Reiji with Rin working against her, Yomi used the last of the beast's power to toss Reiji into Haruka. "Stop… fighting me!" Yomi choked out as she glared at Reiji.

Haruka doted on Reiji as he coughed and struggled for air. "What're y'all thinkin'?! Yer lucky Ah didn't put an arrah in yah!"

"We ain't about to help someone who's going to stab us in the back," Jack warned.

"Perhaps we should just take a step back, calm down, and discuss this without assaulting each other," Gray tried to diffuse the situation. "Reiji, just shut up and listen for a while."

"The fuck are you guys doing?!" Reiji immediately refuted Gray's advice. "Exorcise her! She's dangerous!"

"More dangerous than the bakeneko, if you ask me," Jack contended. "But either way, don't we have the same goal? We need to take that other spirit out."

Reiji struggled to his feet, none too happy about being assaulted and even more so about being on the losing end of an argument. "You intend to just kowtow to this spirit?!"

"Listen here, human," Rin challenged. "You mean nothing to me and even less to this human," she claimed as she motioned to herself. "Bite your tongue, lest you draw my ire. This human is content in putting you in your place. My wrath would not be so… gentle."

"Let's hear it," Gray spoke up as Reiji reluctantly backed down. "This plan of yours to save the girl."

-Some time later-

Eimi arrived back at Chiyo's mansion after being discharged from the hospital. The painkillers they sent her away with made her mind a bit fuzzy, though her arm still throbbed under the freshly-set cast adorning her arm. The Catholic girl stood statue-still outside of the mansion's doors as doubt clouded her mind. That spirit had proved to be the most dangerous and powerful thing the girl had ever faced. Never before had she felt such doubt and fear. Her friends wanted to fight the spirit again, but she wasn't sure she could do it. She was lucky to still be breathing and she knew it. Confronting that monster again—it could really be the death of her.

Could she really show that weakness to her fellow spirit hunters? Not only would she be humiliated, but she would be pressured into going to fight the spirit. If she went with them, she would surely perish. If she refused and anything happened to them, it would haunt her forever. No matter what, it seemed, the future held only disaster for the poor girl. "What do I do?" she mumbled as she finally reached for the door.

As soon as her fingers wrapped around the handle, she felt an unnatural presence merged with a person's. The spirit hunter recognized the anomalous amalgam of spirits as a possessed person. Forgetting her doubts, Eimi rushed in the door and towards the otherworldly presence. The offending spirit she sensed was different from the spirit that had landed her in the hospital, but it seemed familiar nonetheless. She finally came to the door to the guest room where she and her friends had been staying. Drumming up her courage, Eimi burst through the door to find her friends and the fortune teller talking their client, Yomi. She quickly but quietly moved over to her friends while giving Yomi a wide berth. "She's possessed," she whispered a warning to Jack and Haruka.

"We know," Jack brushed Eimi off. "We're going to work together."

"What?!" Eimi shrieked before sheepishly shrinking away as she drew Yomi's attention.

"We are looking forward to working with you," Yomi and Rin greeted her in a shared voice.

Eimi was completely stupefied. "H-how… why… what?"

"She made a deal with a devil… err, bakeneko," Jack explained. "She's going to use the spirit's strength to hopefully beat the evil spirit into submission and save the possessed girl. We're going to help."

"Against better judgment," Reiji protested.

Eimi had never worked alongside a spirit before, but the one possessing Yomi really didn't seem to be at all malicious or even mischievous. "Um… I-I, okay, I guess. But… how can you be possessed?" she asked as she pulled the blue gem free from her blouse. "Isn't this supposed to prevent that?"

All of the spirit hunters gave pause as they looked to their own charms. "Useless trinkets. Figures," Reiji accused.

"These are quite powerful," Rin assured as Yomi revealed her own gem dangling from her neck.

"I had to take it off to let her possess me," Yomi elaborated.

"But, yer wearin' it now, ain't'cha?" Haruka asked as she studied the gem in her palm.

"It prevents the act of possession, but not the state," Gray explained. "When our benevolent spirit here leaves Yomi's body, it will be unable to return so long as she wears the necklace. More importantly, when the bakeneko leaves her to battle the evil spirit, that spirit will find no shelter in her."

Rin snorted. "If this fancy charm removed possession, all we would have to do is bell the cat—so to speak."

"Ah know it's short notice an' all, but we're headin' out tah go set some traps fer that bastard here pretty soon. We've already got ah plan an' everythin'," Haruka filled Eimi in. "Y'all can stay here if yah want. Sakaki an' Chiyo an' mah cousin are in Chiyo's room with that other gal. We could really use yer help, though."

Eimi's free hand subconsciously moved to her cast as she contemplated the proposal. "I-I'm scared," she bashfully admitted. "I've never… I mean, I've always known that this stuff is dangerous, but none of us has ever really gotten hurt before. Not like this."

"I'll be sure to give that spirit one for you," Jack assured as he grinned and cracked his knuckles. "That'll bring it up to about a hundred I owe that damned bastard. Can't wait to kick its ass."

"We're gonna get ready tah head out," Haruka said. "Yomi says that she needs tah hang out here an' adjust. If yah change yer mind, y'all can come along with Yomi at sunset."

"We have to adjust to each other," Yomi spoke along with Rin. "The more attuned we are to each other, the better our odds of success."

Eimi teared up at the support of her friends. "You guys…"

"Just try an' rest up," Haruka encouraged. "Tha sooner yah recuperate tha better."

"Now that Eimi's here, there's no more reason for us to wait," Jack announced. "Let's go set up a few surprises for that bastard."

"Be careful," Eimi cautioned as the group gathered their things. "I'll be praying for you!"

"Your time would be better spent keeping a careful watch over this 'friendly' bakeneko here," Reiji claimed.

Yomi let out a feral, inhuman growl as Rin spoke, "You try my patience, human."

"Um… from what I can tell, we can trust her," Eimi claimed as she gave Reiji a reassuring smile. "Not all spirits are evil, you know."

"Keep thinking that and you'll be fortunate to ever see your 'heaven'," Reiji warned as he followed the spirit hunters out.

"Please don't take offense, Miss Bakeneko," Eimi politely excused Reiji's behavior. "He seems to be really cynical. I don't know why."

"I will not tolerate his arrogance much longer," Rin warned.

Yomi's voice shifted back to her own, "If it were up to me, he'd already be breathing through a tube."

"You need to be careful, too, Miss Yomi. I've never really seen a possession like this before, but it could be bad for your health to push yourself too far," Eimi respectfully cautioned.

"I'll do whatever it takes," Yomi defiantly proclaimed. "Even if it kills me."

"Um… I'm just a little curious. It seems like you are both fully aware no matter which of you is in control. Is that so?" Eimi asked as she gingerly changed the subject.

"We are both cognizant of everything," the possessed girl offered in a hybrid voice.

Eimi beamed at the revelation. "That's incredible! Of all the possessions I've seen, the person struggles for dominance with the spirit. Whenever they aren't dominant, they usually have a tenuous awareness of what's going on at best."

"We do not struggle against each other… we try not to," Yomi continued in the hybrid voice. "The spirit has completely subdued Tomo. She will not be able to struggle against the spirit and weaken it. We must work as one to match the spirit's power. If we do not, this body will falter and be vulnerable."

"I-I see."

"Now, if you will excuse us, we must practice working as one," Yomi and Rin dismissed themselves as they exited the room.

"Incredible…" Eimi mumbled after the door had swung shut.

* * *

><p>AN: Next chapter will be the exciting climax! I would like some feedback from my readers, though. I do have a plan for a second story arc to this fic. If you, the readers, would like to see more please let me know. Otherwise the next chapter will draw the curtain on this story.


	12. Showdown

Sinister Scourge Chapter 12

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><p>Chiyo stared out her window as the sky began to turn shades of yellow and orange. Had it been any other circumstance, the beautiful sight would bring comfort and joy to the small girl. Instead, she wore a worried expression as she clasped her hands to her chest and prayed for her friends' safety. She was stirred from her pensive mood by the feeling of a firm grip on her shoulder. She looked up to see Sakaki.<p>

"Everyone will come back safe this time," Sakaki blatantly lied to Chiyo. She certainly felt no joy in lying to all of her friends about what was really going on, but she just couldn't find the courage to tell them how dangerous this last excursion to that accursed mansion would be. The lie she had told everyone was that her friend has a last ditch plan that would surely save Tomo and that Yomi had insisted on going along. All of her friends now skeptically believed that Tomo would come walking back with everyone else. The truth was that by the time the evening was over Tomo would be in the hospital—and that's the best-case scenario. Even Sakaki wished that she could believe the lie instead.

Chiyo whimpered a bit as she looked back to the darkening sky. "I-I know. I just…I still worry."

"Yeah," Sakaki muttered in response.

Kagura fiddled with the pair of glasses in her hands as her teeth gnashed. Listening to Sakaki lie to Chiyo made her blood boil. "She's lying, you know," she grumbled low enough that the only person to hear the words would be the girl sitting next to her on the foot of Chiyo's bed.

"Huh?" Osaka looked over to the fidgeting tomboy.

Kagura repeatedly folded the glasses' arms in and out as she tried to figure out just what was going on. "Sakaki sucks at lying," she whispered to Osaka. "I don't know how much of what she said was a lie and how much was the truth, but she was lying about something. Something serious." Kagura paused a moment as she tried to imagine what the worst lie might entail. Was Tomo still going to die? No. If that was the case, there is no way Yomi would have gone along. Wait. _Did_ Yomi go along? Was that the lie? Kagura looked to Yomi's glasses in her hands. Why would Yomi leave them behind?

"Yah seem tah be really upset," Osaka tried to console Kagura. "Ah'm sure things'll work out somehow. Tomo'll be cured an' that spirit'll be dead."

Kagura leaned over as she cast a disdainful stare at Sakaki. "I don't care about Tomo. She's already dead to me," she claimed before turning back around. "What pisses me off is that Sakaki lied to me. I can't figure out what's really going on."

A knock at the door led all eyes to Eimi as she shyly opened the door. "E-excuse me, there isn't much time left. I've decided that I'm going to go help in any way that I can. I'm leaving now."

"Good luck," Sakaki said barely loud enough to be heard.

"Thank you. I'll call you…when it's over," she morosely dismissed herself as she hurried out.

As Eimi walked out, Kagura rushed after her. "Hey! Wait!" she urged as she chased after the injured girl.

"I really have to go," Eimi claimed as Kagura caught up at the bottom of the stairs. "There isn't much time."

"Just tell me what's going on! I know Sakaki's not telling us everything."

Eimi paused as she finally turned to Kagura. "L-look, I don't even know what Sakaki told you. I know it must be hard not knowing, but maybe that's for the best. It will be over soon."

Eimi tried again to retreat, only to be halted by Kagura's hand on her shoulder. "No way. You're not getting off that easily," Kagura denied. "What's really going on? Why's Yomi suddenly going along?"

"It's a dangerous situation," the Catholic girl claimed as she shrugged off Kagura's hand. "Especially for Yomi and Tomo. But the die is already cast. There really isn't any stopping it anymore. The only thing you can do is wait. Wait and pray."

"If Yomi's going, then I'm going, too," Kagura insisted.

"You should stay here," Eimi claimed as she opened the door. Both girls were caught off guard to find Yomi on the other side.

Kagura hesitated as she looked to Yomi. Her clothes were soiled and disheveled. She was sweating and panting as she looked from Eimi to Kagura. "You're still here?" Kagura wondered as she looked at the girl who looked like she'd gotten into a fistfight with a bear. "Wh-what happened?

"I was going to see if Eimi was coming," Yomi carefully said so that Rin's voice would not be heard.

"I am," Eimi confidently claimed. "We should go now."

Yomi nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

"I'm going, too," Kagura chimed in.

"No. Stay here," Yomi refused.

Kagura balled her hands into fists. "This…this whole time I've been in the dark. I just… I want to know what's really going on. Why are you going? Are they going to kill Tomo or not?"

"Over my dead body," Yomi claimed, "and that's why I'm going. I'll do whatever it takes to spare Tomo."

"I don't want you to die!" Kagura earnestly confessed. "I don't give a damn about Tomo, but I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't want to see someone else I care about die!"

"This is my fault. My responsibility. My burden," Yomi refused to hear Kagura's pleas. "If my death is what it takes to save Tomo and set things straight, then I'll do it."

"It's not your fault! It's Tomo's!"

"No! It's mine!" Yomi shouted as a hint of a feral growl sounded in her voice. "I encouraged her to open that door! Tomo never thinks ahead or worries about consequences. It's my responsibility to do that for her."

"But—"

"Then, when the spirit attacked us, I left her behind. I _abandoned_ her. My cowardice is what allowed her to be possessed in the first place. And when she was possessed… I-I knew something was wrong, and I still… I didn't do enough to help her," Yomi lamented. "I could have stopped this if-if only I had done something, anything differently."

"Yomi…" Kagura pathetically mumbled as words failed her.

"We really need to go," Eimi reluctantly broke up the conversation.

Yomi sighed as she reigned in her emotions. "We're going. You need to stay here, Kagura."

"F-fine," Kagura resigned as she pulled the door closed behind the duo.

As Yomi and Eimi rushed towards the spirit's residence, an unnoticed, shadowy figure trailed after them. "Just what are you up to?" a feminine voice whispered.

* * *

><p>"About time you got here," Jack greeted Eimi and Yomi as they stepped onto the mansion's grounds. "Glad to see you came, too, Eimi." Jack and Yomi then exchanged items—a cloth for the alicorn dagger.<p>

"Are you ready?" Eimi anxiously asked as her gaze trailed upward to the darkening sky.

Jack nodded. "We're as ready as we're gonna be." He then grabbed EImi's uninjured wrist and began dragging her away. "We want to catch it by surprise. We'll hide while Yomi waits in plain view of the front doors. All right?"

While Jack and Eimi moved to a more secluded area, Yomi marched out into the middle of the drive and stared down towards the mansion. "I'm ready, Tomo," she muttered.

Meanwhile, a pair of eyes carefully watched everything that was going on from the shadows. To get a better view, she pulled out a monocular and focused on Yomi's figure. "Just how many rich folds do these kids know?" A bit of motion caught her eye and she refocused her sight on the mansion's front door. As the exiting figure came into focus, the woman audibly gasped, "That's—!"

"Tomo!" Yomi shouted as the door swung shut behind Tomo. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I'll do whatever it takes to save you!"

"Pathetic," the spirit berated as two full-grown trees near Yomi uprooted themselves and levitated several meters in the air. "Die." As the word rang out, the enormous trees crashed into Yomi, sending a plume of dust into the air. Tomo grinned as she started to strut towards the carnage. The air of confidence the possessed girl was exuding shattered when a blur shot out of the dust cloud at a blistering speed.

"Tomo!" Yomi screamed as her voice melded with Rin's.

"What?!" the evil spirit recoiled. Not having time to make sense of the situation, the spirit willed two pillars adorning the mansions doorway to break free and fly at Yomi.

Yomi hurdled the first pillar with minimal effort. However, while she was in the air the second pillar was poised to smash into her. As the pillar rushed at Yomi, she allowed Rin to take the lead. She found herself focusing all of her energy into her right arm before lashing out at the enormous cylinder. As fingertips met concrete, the stone crumbled with almost no resistance. The pillar broke into dozens of pieces that harmlessly fell to the ground. Yomi landed gracefully amongst the rubble and couldn't help but to stare at her own hand. _I did that?_

_We did,_ Rin informed Yomi. _Do not lose focus!_

Yomi looked up to find a very unnerved Tomo glaring back at her from a good twenty meters away. "Who-_what_ are you!?" the evil spirit demanded as it focused its power.

"Do it now!" Yomi possessed voice rang out.

"Do it," Reiji urged as he nodded to Jack.

Jack held in his hands a small fetich doll. Receiving the cue from Yomi, he pulled out the object Yomi had given him earlier: a small handkerchief that had belonged to Tomo. He quickly tied the object around the doll's neck. The spell complete, he violently pressed the doll to the ground and held it there with all his strength.

In that same instant, Tomo fell backwards onto the ground as an insurmountable force kept her in place. "What sorcery is this?!"

Yomi dashed towards the exposed girl as she pulled the unicorn-horn dagger from her pocket. "This ends now!" the hybrid voice roared as Yomi leapt at Tomo. As she dove on top of Tomo, she suddenly had to decide the best place to harm her best friend. Not having time to think things over, she sunk the ivory dagger deep into Tomo's left shoulder. The spirit let out a demonic howl as the nearby pillar and stone rubble rushed towards Yomi.

Yomi tried to jump up and out of harm's way, but a voice in her mind tried to stop her, _You must press the attack!_

The staggered girl ended up not doing anything until a punishing wave of cement swept her off of Tomo. The next thing Yomi knew, she was lying in a pile of rubble and in a staggering amount of pain. She rose haltingly to her feet entirely due to a will not her own. Her right arm was definitely broken and her ribs were not much better off.

Tomo, meanwhile, was still struggling against the invisible force holding her down. Before Yomi had a chance to recover and mount another attack, the spirit summoned enough strength to break free from the curse. In a burst of unholy power, Tomo launched to her feet and furiously tore the dagger from her shoulder before angrily tossing it to the ground.

Nearby, Jack was thrown off of the fetich doll as it burst into flames. "It broke free!" he hissed as he shook his hand free of the throbbing pain.

"Plan B, then?" Gray asked.

Haruka carefully surveyed the battlefield from a branch high above the rest of the group. "Yomi's on 'er feet, but it looks like that spirit really did ah number on 'er."

"Let's go," Jack insisted as he and Gray rushed to Yomi's aid.

_I warned you before, human,_ Rin's voice echoed inside Yomi's mind. _It is not enough to wound her! You must bring her to the brink of death!_

"I know! I know!" Yomi shouted; her voice still entwined with Rin's.

"You will suffer for this!" the evil spirit roared as it struggled to mount another attack.

The large chunks of cement around Yomi began to levitate in the air as the spirit prepared to assail Yomi once more. The instant the heavy cement rushed at her, Yomi sprinted forward towards Tomo with an inhuman speed. Even with her injuries, Yomi was able to outmaneuver the assault and close in on Tomo once again. This time, Tomo managed to stay out of arm's reach. As soon as Yomi got close to her possessed friend the ground between the two shot up. It formed a vertical wall that stopped Yomi in her tracks. She tried to force her way through with her good arm, but her arm just ended up stuck in the soft earth. Having missed her chance to ambush Tomo, Yomi scrambled to pull herself free so she could mount another offensive. Just as her arm came free, the rest of the wall followed. The earth burst out at Yomi and bowled her over as another gigantic, concrete column smashed through the earthen wall.

"Guh…ugh…" Yomi and Rin struggled together to pull themselves free of the mud and rock.

Tomo chuckled derisively at Yomi's suffering. "It was a nice game, but it is time to end this," the spirit mocked as it lifted another huge chunk left over from the pillar. The small boulder flew at Yomi while she was still mired in the debris. A sudden burst of light distracted the spirit, causing the column fragment to slam into the dirt and grind to a halt just short of Yomi. "What…?" Tomo mumbled as she shielded her eyes from the mysterious hovering light.

"Hurry! The flare won't last long!" Gray's voice called out.

"She's not alone?!" the evil spirit only then realized that Yomi was being supported by the spirit hunters. Before Tomo had a chance to act, a tokkosho sunk into the ground dead center in Tomo's shadow. The spirit suddenly found itself completely paralyzed.

"Now! Attack while it's bound!" Jack shouted as he withdrew his stag-horn dagger from his jacket and sprinted towards Tomo.

While the spirit could not move Tomo's body, its powers remained unaffected. Unable to look away from the bright light, it blindly swept up the debris from around it and whipped it around Tomo's body to make a defensive wall of flying rocks.

Jack was forced to abandon his offensive as even he didn't dare risk getting ripped to shreds by the flying rocks. Worse still, the tokkosho binding Tomo's body was caught up in the storm. A stray rock hit it, tilting it in the soil. While Jack realized that another solid hit would free Tomo, he didn't dare speak up about it lest the spirit discover the nature of the spell binding it. "We've got to do something!" he uselessly shouted.

Yomi managed to free herself from the rubble with Rin's help, but hesitated to attack Tomo through the cyclone of stones. She knew she had to do something, and she sensed that Rin was also at a loss as how to get through the spinning barrier to Tomo. "What should we do?!" the duo shouted together.

Before anyone had a chance to come up with an idea, another rock struck the tokkosho and tore it out of the ground. As the weapon broke free, so did Tomo. She stumbled forward as the cyclone died down. Prying her eyes away from the blinding light of the flare, she saw nothing but blackness. She blinked a few times to try to clear her vision, but suddenly stopped as an immense pain overwhelmed her. She staggered backwards as both of her hands moved to her abdomen just below her belly button.

Yomi shook as she watched a patch of blood begin to seep through Tomo's blouse and skirt. Her horrified gaze trailed to her left hand to find it covered in a thick film of blood all the way up to her wrist. She struggled to comprehend what had just happened. When she had rushed Tomo, she followed Rin's lead. She extended her fingers and flattened out her hand as she struck at Tomo. Her fingers tore through Tomo's flesh sickeningly easily. It almost didn't seem real. Yomi finally tore her eyes from her bloodied hand back to Tomo.

The injured and enraged spirit tried to sweep up the nearby debris to pummel Yomi in retaliation, but it just couldn't muster the concentration to do so though the immense pain. "You-you'll pay for this," it ground out as it kept Tomo's hands over her grievous wound.

Yomi didn't even register the words as another voice echoed in her head. _It is still not over! We must attack!_ Lacking any sort of response from her stunned host, Rin took charge of the body and quickly closed the distance to the injured girl. Still feeling no response from Yomi, Rin spun her body around kicked Tomo with inhuman force.

Yomi didn't even realize she had been moving until just before her shin impacted Tomo's left arm. Before she could react and stop Rin, she felt Tomo's arm snap. The force of the blow was strong enough to send Tomo flying a few meters over and into the fallen trees that the spirit had initially attacked Yomi with. Yomi looked on in horror as she tried to spot Tomo through the branches. "N-no… No! What did you do?!" she accused Rin as she started staggering towards the fallen trees.

_What needed to be done,_ Rin icily replied as she fought against Yomi march. _Wait!_

At first, Yomi had no intention of complying with the monster that had probably just killed Tomo, but she found her stubborn will sapped by an ominous miasma seeping out of the branches. The black mist gathered into a sphere and shot at Yomi. As the mist encompassed her, Yomi felt a malevolent force try to force its way into her and Rin out. Just as when Rin had tried to possess her, the angel's tear necklace summoned a blue light. The protective aura completely enveloped Yomi and the spirit's presence was completely banished. Thwarted, the miasma shot towards the mansion and disappeared through the door. The next Yomi felt was all of her pain amplifying by several orders of magnitude. As her agony deepened, her strength left her. She let out a pained scream as she lost the ability to remain standing.

Looking up from the cold ground, Yomi spied a giant black cat sprinting towards the mansion. It was only then that the injured girl realized that she was the only one in her body. Without the bakeneko, all of her injuries seemed far worse than she remembered. She suddenly recalled that her right arm was broken, but that barely even registered through the pain in her torso. It felt like her insides had been beaten into hamburger. Every breath in and out pulled at her mangled ribs, eliciting sharp pains. It seemed as though the bakeneko had not only boosted her strength, but also her resilience.

The simple task of rolling her head over to try and figure out Tomo's fate proved excruciatingly painful and completely futile. Her view from the ground only showed fallen limbs and shadows. "T-Tomo," Yomi tried to scream, but the pain from forcing air in and out of her lungs limited her to little more than a whisper. As she struggled in vain to so much as sit up so she could get to Tomo, a figure hastily walked around the trees. Spotting Yomi on the ground, the woman dashed over. As the mystery-woman got close, Yomi recognized her as the indelibly persistent detective.

The green-eyed detective holstered her pistol as she knelt down next to Yomi. "Hey, hey! Are you all right?" Midori fretted as she checked Yomi over. "What on earth is going on here?!"

"Tomo… Go check on Tomo," Yomi urged.

The mangled mess of a girl in front of the detective might have looked like hell, but she wasn't bleeding very badly and seemed to be at least somewhat coherent. "Can you tell me what happened?" she urged as she grabbed a small radio. The detective identified herself before demanding an ambulance.

"Are you okay?" Eimi shouted as she approached, first-aid kit dangling from her fingers.

A startled Midori let out a sigh as she moved her hand away from her pistol as the girl stepped out of the shadows. Spying the white box with the red cross, she urged the girl over, "Bring that here!"

Yomi managed to lift herself up into a sitting position. "Forget about me!" she insisted as he voice wavered due to her quick, shallow breaths. "Go-go get Tomo!"

Following Yomi's gesture, Eimi quickly moved over to the mangled trees. "Oh! Oh no!" she panicked as she got close. Hastily setting the first-aid kit on the ground Eimi scrambled to clear some of the fallen branches despite her own broken arm. "Help me!"

Although reluctant to abandon the injured girl next to her, Midori could easily see that whatever Eimi had found was important. "What happened here?!" as soon as she got the question out, she had forgotten all about it. In the clutter of broken branches was a girl covered in ratty bandages lying in a small pool of blood. Midori easily brushed the offending branches aside as she worked her way to Tomo. _How could something like this happen!?_ her mind raced as she looped her arms under Tomo's and started to drag the girl free from the uprooted tree. After gingerly setting her down, Midori scrambled to don a pair of disposable gloves as Eimi grabbed the first-aid kit.

"Is-is she…?" Eimi gravely asked as she opened the kit and scrambled through it.

"She's still bleeding," Midori assured as she grabbed Tomo's clothes and pulled them away from the gaping wound in her abdomen. "We need something to cover it and stem the bleeding!"

As Eimi started to sift through the kit, a loud crash drew everyone's attention to a cat twice the size of a tiger crashing through the side of the mansion. The monstrous cat righted itself midair and landed deftly on its feet as it glared back towards the mansion. With a mighty shake, the beast removed the dust and debris from its pelt as its size inflated. By the time it had finished dusting itself off, it was slightly larger than the three-story building.

Midori stepped back from Tomo as she drew her pistol. "What is THAT?!"

"She's on our side!" Eimi assured just before another deafening crash. This time the entire roof lifted away from the mansion as jet-black tendrils threw it aside and trampled what was left of the wall the cat had flown through. "That's not," she squeaked as the tentacles anchored themselves to the ground to lift what appeared to be a bus-sized body free from the rubble.

"You will suffer for this insolence!" the giant, spider-like spirit roared as it lashed out at Rin with one of its many ethereal legs.

"I have to go help with the trap!" Eimi dismissed herself as she clutched the small cross dangling from her neck and began to sprint away. "Please take care of these two!"

The words didn't even register as Midori stared at the battling behemoths, completely transfixed. The detective just stood stupefied for a couple of minutes and watched the beasts in total awe until the sound of a blaring siren tore her attention away. She turned to see lights flashing from behind the fallen trees. Suddenly remembering the crisis before her, she glanced down to find Yomi lying next to Tomo. The brunette was desperately holding a handful of gauze on Tomo's gaping wound. While Midori could scarcely believe that Yomi had managed to crawl over to Tomo in her condition, it was far from her greatest concern. "Hold on! I'll bring the ambulance here!" she shouted as she darted around the fallen trees. Moments later she reappeared with the ambulance rolling behind her. As the paramedics disembarked, they were nearly thrown to the ground by a violent shaking. Midori looked back to the dueling monsters to find the impossibly enormous cat struggling to get up off the ground as the jet-black monster pressed the attack.

"Earthquake?!" one of the paramedics shouted as he found his balance.

"Take care of the girls! We're fine here, I think," Midori feebly reassured as she watched several flashes of light zoom in a shallow arc at the large, black spirit. The flashes seemed to do something as the unholy beast staggered back and away from the monstrous cat, allowing it to regain its footing. Midori kept a fierce grip on her pistol as she felt utterly useless.

"Detective!" a shout from one of the paramedics snapped Midori from her stupor. "Call for another ambulance! We can only transport one of them!"

"Wh-what?" she stupidly replied as she tore her eyes away from the battle.

"Stop screwing around! Call for another ambulance!"

Midori did a double-take between the battle and the medics. It was almost as if… "Can you not see that?"

The paramedic that had been shouting at her looked away from helping Tomo to see what Midori was pointing at. To him it was just an empty part of the estate. "Get it together!" he admonished.

"R-right," Midori dismissed it as she picked up her radio again. _Is this really happening?_

Meanwhile, the mammoth beasts were still exchanging blows. Rin shook off the pain from the beating she had just received. "To think you have gained such power in so little time," the monster-cat growled as it leapt out of the range of the evil spirit's formless legs.

The evil spirit suddenly staggered as a few more holy arrows tore through it. Although Haruka's arrows completely annihilated the spirit's form wherever the purifying light touched, the wounds sealed nearly instantly. "Allying yourself with these wretched vermin… Pathetic. Your power is nothing!" the evil spirit roared as one of its legs detached. It amorphously poured down into a great, oily ball. The ichor then quivered and rearranged into something that resembled a warped praying mantis that stood a few meters tall. Another leg did the same nearly in sync with the first, producing two spawns that rushed the spirit hunters. Seemingly unaffected by the loss of the legs, the enormous spirit simply sprouted new ones as it pressed the attack against Rin.

Haruka quickly switched targets from the massive beast to the more immediate threat of the fast-approaching manifestations. An arrow piercing each of them tore a hole through them bigger around than a bowling ball. It didn't even slow them down. The gaping holes filled quickly as the flesh of the monsters filled the gap like sentient, seeping oil. Although the arrows didn't slow them down and the damage was quickly repaired, Haruka kept sending arrow after arrow into the approaching assailants. It was hard to notice, but Haruka saw it right away. Every lump of flesh destroyed by the arrows was not recovered and the beasts shrunk little by little as they used more and more of their mass to repair the damage. Unfortunately for the spirit hunter, the beasts weren't slow and her arrows were next to useless once they managed to finally close the distance. In spite of Haruka's efforts, they still stood as tall as a person as they bore down on her.

The nearest shadow-beast drew back one of its scythe-like arms for an overhead blow as Haruka feebly held up her bow in defense. As the monster swung its bladed arm at Haruka, Eimi suddenly knocked her friend out of the way as she held up the crucifix Gray had given her. The instant the blighted blade met the holy relic, a bright light erupted. The purifying light completely disintegrated the beast's arm as well as a chunk of its shoulder. The holy surge was even enough to cause both beasts to stagger backwards.

Seizing the opportunity, Jack sprinted towards the uninjured beast. Drawing his antler-dagger, he plunged it into the stunned monster's chest. It let out an inhuman roar as the ichor that constituted the creature suddenly began melting away, leaving nothing but a melon-sized lump amongst a puddle of black liquid. Jack turned his attention to the second monster to find that it not only recovered from Eimi's intervention, but was barreling down upon him! "Aim dead center!" he shouted as he worked to keep the shadowy beast at arm's length. No sooner did the words leave his mouth did an arrow tear through the monster's gut. "A little higher!" Jack urged as he danced around the beast's swings.

Another arrow sailed into the insect-like abomination. This time, it stuck inside the monster instead of sailing through it. Finally impacting something, the ward attached to the arrow caused it to erupt in an explosion of holy light. The surge completely blew all of the black ichor away, leaving the arrow stuck in a misshapen lump as all that was left of the beast. Haruka lowered her bow as she covered her face with her sleeve. "Ugh, what a terrible stench! What is that?"

Jack, too, put a hand to his face in a feeble attempt to block out the rotting smell. "Flesh," he spat with disgust. "Human flesh."

Eimi paled as she looked to the jet-black behemoth still battling Rin. "That, that… Oh, God, no."

"I believe we have just discovered the whereabouts of the missing persons," Reiji morosely observed.

"Wh-why? Why would it do something so horrible?" Eimi mourned.

"I must have been trying to forge itself a permanent vessel," Gray surmised. "We forced its hand early. That form is not yet complete."

"It's vulnerable," Jack summarized.

"It's all ready," Gray assured with a nod.

Reiji withdrew a small dog whistle from his pocket. "Get into position," Reiji ordered. "I'll signal the bakeneko once you are prepared."

"Right!" the group called out in unison as they scattered.

The movements of the spirit hunters did not go unnoticed by the abhorrent spirit. "See what your allegiance to that filth has gotten you?" it mocked as Rin narrowly avoided another haphazard blow. "Your 'friends' have abandoned you."

"It matters not!" Rin bit back as she managed to slash through the ichor of the spirit's body. The damage was nearly instantly undone as the flesh mended itself like liquid filling a crevice. "You have no place in this world! In any world!"

The spirit quivered in anger. "I will never return to the void!" it roared as it managed to land a direct hit against Rin. The blow sent the bakeneko to the ground.

Rin struggled to her feet just in time to avoid a punishing overhead blow. "Is that the reason for which you have caused such suffering? Fear of losing your tenuous grip on this realm?"

"No!" the spirit forcibly denied as it pressed the attack. "I want them to suffer! To die!" it bellowed as it struggled to land a blow on the backpedalling bakeneko. "You will share in their agony!"

"Such unadulterated rancor… You loathsome wretch," Rin admonished as she nimbly avoided the fervent assault as she continued to retreat. _Just a bit further._

Rin's retreat had become more than obvious to the evil spirit. "You're not even fighting back! Have you given up?" it taunted as it continued to lash out at its nimble opponent. "Have you realized how futile it is to attack me, or has your puny body weakened so much that all you can do is flee?"

"You boast, but where is the power that was witnessed before?" Rin verbally countered. "When you resided in the human girl, you were able to uproot trees. Now you cannot lift so much as a pebble. Is your grip on that vessel so weak that you cannot focus any of your power?"

"Graah!" the unholy beast roared as it lunged its entire body at the oversized cat.

"Now!" Rin shouted as she leapt back a few dozen meters from the enraged spirit.

The spirit moved to give chase, but stopped short as it reached an invisible barrier. Looking about, it found a faintly glowing line on the ground in front of it. As it traced the line, it found itself to be inside a square of these lines, trapped. Just outside the prison were the four humans with spiritual powers occupying each corner. "You think this trick will hold me?" it raged as it furiously attacked the barrier in front of it. The blows were powerful enough to make the earth tremble, but made no obvious damage to the barrier.

"It only needs to keep you here a moment!" Gray called out as a glowing circle appeared intersecting the four corners. A second circle followed, this one approximately one meter outside of the first one.

"Cease this!" the spirit demanded as it continued to desperately pound on the barrier in front of it.

"Concentrate your power now! Do not let up!" Gray shouted as the brightness of the lines intensified. Jack, Eimi, and Haruka followed Gray's lead and several glowing patterns and symbols appeared between the two shimmering circles. The symbols and lines dramatically increased in luminescence as a large glyph appeared within the square beneath the evil spirit.

"Release me! Release me now!" the spirit fervently shouted as it moved to one of the square's corners and tried to attack Jack directly—to no avail. Jack was safely outside of the confining square. "I'll kill you!"

The array quickly increased in brightness before a pillar of light erupted from the inner circle with a silencing hum. The hum was a gentle, comforting sound, but it still drowned out all other noise. Jack and Gray tried to encourage the rest of the group to remain strong, but the noise of the light drowned them out completely. As the purifying shockwave approached Rin, she shrunk to the size of a normal cat before leaping into the air. She vanished as she reached the apex of her jump, disappearing just before the light swept through.

Between the fatigue from her injuries and the painkillers dulling her mind, Eimi was the first to exhaust herself. She collapsed and the array distorted in response. With the burden on the rest amplified, Haruka's stamina nearly instantly gave out. Jack and Gray could not maintain the array by themselves and the spell broke. The light stopped emanating from the array and was quickly replaced by the darkness of the night.

Sound was the first thing to return as the evil spirit could be heard roaring in agony. As the light faded away, it revealed a pulsating lump of flesh a bit bigger than a large truck. "Graah! This…! This will not stop me!" it roared.

Haruka nocked an arrow as she took in the disgusting sight. The black ichor had been swept away by the purifying light, but the spirit itself still clearly resided within the shapeless mountain of flesh. "This here is, uh, uncharted territory fer us. What do we do now?" she asked as she drew the bowstring and aimed at the disgusting amalgam of bone and tissue. "Exorcise it?"

"It's so… tainted," Eimi squeaked as she could barely stand to set eyes on the horrible pile of flesh. "I don't know that it can be exorcised."

The tissue suddenly quivered as a column of flesh shot out of the amorphous blob. Then another column shot out, and another, and another. The flesh contorted around before suddenly standing up. It had become a grotesque, humanoid golem several meters tall. It immediately, albeit clumsily, lashed out and lunged at Jack. "How dare you strip my power away?" it raged after just missing the nimble spirit hunter. "I will get it back! I'll start by devouring your souls!"

Haruka let an arrow fly into the flesh golem. This time the explosion of light failed to make the monster so much as flinch. The arrow itself didn't seem to do any damage either. The flesh didn't bleed. Just a bit of pus oozed out from the wound. Haruka fired two more arrows into the monstrosity, both as ineffective as the first. "Mah arrahs ain't workin'!" Haruka resigned as she lowered her bow. "That's all Ah got!"

"I'm trying!" Jack claimed as he spun clear of an overhead blow, deftly sinking the stag-horn dagger into what could only be considered the beast's arm. It didn't even flinch. "Nothing's working!" he claimed as he kept his momentum and jumped away.

"I-I can't do anything, either!" Eimi resigned. "It's not human anymore! This is out of our league!"

"The flesh has been forged into a golem!" Reiji observed. "It's similar to Frankenstein's monster! You merely need to physically destroy it!"

"If it were a demon, phantom, or spirit I could!" Jack retorted as he managed to stay clear of the lumbering beast. "I don't have a chainsaw!"

"Anytime bakeneko!" Gray shouted.

A pair of glowing, yellow eyes pierced the shadows in a nearby tree. "Oh? Are you asking for my help this time?" the monster's smile could practically be heard in her voice.

"Don't be foolish!" Gray refused to be indebted to the monster. "You aren't willing to sit by as these children are attacked!"

"I am," the bakeneko challenged. "There is but one human I am fond of. She will not dwell on any of your deaths."

"Stubborn- gah!" Jack yelled as he barely managed to slip under one of the golem's swings. "I'll take being in that monster's debt over death! Help us!"

"What will it be, witch?" Rin pressed.

Gray bit her tongue as she weighed her options. The other spirit hunters weren't nearly as patient. "Jus' ask fer help dammit!" Haruka scolded. "Jack can't keep it up forever!"

"We cannot allow ourselves to be indebted to that bakeneko!" Reiji argued.

"Jack needs help!" Eimi begged Rin, "Please, save him!"

Gray still kept her mouth shut, even as the golem managed to land a merciless blow on Jack. It swept one of its grotesque arms across at Jack and after he jumped over the attack, it continued to spin. The second arm crashed into Jack before he could recover, sending him flying into the shadows.

"Jack!"

"Oh! Please be okay!"

"Yah bastard!"

The spirit hunters' voices fell on deaf ears and even Haruka's spiteful arrow didn't faze the lumbering beast as it turned to the only other perceived threat: Gray. "I will slaughter you all!" it roared as it marched towards the woman in fortune-teller's garb.

"You are truly willing to let us die!" Gray accused as she backed away from the approaching golem. It took several tense seconds before the lumbering beast closed the distance. Once it had, Gray was finally willing to compromise. "H-help us, bakeneko!"

Finally hearing the words she was waiting for, Rin leapt down as she grew once more to the size of a house. She quickly ripped off one of the golem's arms, tossing the bite-sized lump of flesh in the air before catching it in her mouth and letting it slide down her gullet.

"B-bakeneko!? How?!" the spirit angrily shouted as the golem instinctively covered the wound with its remaining hand. "That light—"

Rin let out a derisive chuckle as she mocked her opponent, "Surely you do not think myself to be as weak as you."

"Why!? Why would you ally yourself with such weak, disgusting creatures?"

Rin chuckled again, "What is that phrase humans seem to be so fond of? The enemy of my enemy is my friend." The feral beast punctuated the sentiment by ripping off the other arm with a single bite. Snapping her jaws, the gargantuan cat swallowed the putrid lump of flesh. This time, a wispy, black fog escaped from her maw and sought shelter in what was left of the golem. "You have made your intentions perfectly clear. You seek to destroy everything; humans, animals, even creatures such as myself. You have earned the rancor of every living being in this world. In your arrogance you have crossed myself and these hunters of spirits."

"I will destroy you yet!" the evil spirit boomed as the golem quivered and tried to rearrange itself.

Rin didn't give it that chance. She pounced on the giant lump of flesh and ravenously devoured it. As the last scrap of flesh slid down the beast's throat, the black mist escaped her jaws and coalesced into a sphere.

"Now what will you do, foolish cat?" the spirit mocked, fully confident that its ethereal form was immune to even the bakeneko's might. "After I've found a new puppet, I will seek you out. You. Will. Suffer."

Before the spirit could attempt to flee, a beam of red light struck dead center in the unholy sphere. The spirit was inexorably drawn to the source. The mist swirled around the light as it was slowly but surely dragged along the beam of ruby light. The spirit soon found itself being sucked into a red amulet dangling from the fortune-teller's outstretched hand. The red, oval gemstone darkened as the spirit entered. Its color shifted through purple until it was pitch black from the corrupt spirit's darkness. Then, in the blink of an eye, Gray withdrew her hand and the amulet disappeared from sight.

"Do not presume you shall have my aid again, should your 'prison' fail," the bakeneko warned as she shrunk back to her normal size. "It is over, for now. You humans can awaken from the nightmare. I am going back to my world to rest…" she announced as she faded from sight. "Oh, and interloper, you can come out now. It is safe," her voice echoed on the breeze.

Acting on the monster's words, Midori stepped out from the shadows with her pistol clutched in a white-knuckled grip at her hip. "Wh-what the hell was _that_?!" she forcibly asked as she sent a piercing gaze to the spirit hunters.

"You probably don't want to know," Jack announced as he stumbled out of the shadows. He wore a slightly pained expression as he held an arm across his chest.

"Jack! Are you all right?!" Eimi fretted as she quickly went to his side.

"Nothing I can't sleep off," he dismissed as he locked eyes with the detective.

Midori reluctantly holstered her pistol as she broke gaze with Jack to spy flashing lights just beyond the line of trees. "The lot of you are going to have to answer a lot of difficult questions if you don't get out of here before my backup comes sweeping through," she warned.

"Wha…y'all're just…lettin' us go?" Haruka stupidly asked.

"I believe I will get more answers out of you at the hospital than in an interrogation room," Midori explained her decision. "Don't get me wrong. I will arrest you if I deem it necessary. So long as you agree to tell me the story—the whole story—I'll save us all a lot of red tape."

"The hospital!" Eimi blurted out as she suddenly remembered Tomo and Yomi's plight. "Are they…?"

"They left alive, that's all I know," Midori hurriedly brushed the Catholic girl off. "Wasn't there an older woman here?"

"Gray?" Reiji mumbled as everyone looked around. There was no sign that the mysterious woman had ever been there.

Midori grunted in frustration. The kids were one thing. She had their names and addresses and could have them brought in if she really needed to. That woman was another matter entirely. "Who was she? Where did she go?"

"Those… are superb questions," Reiji kicked himself for allowing her to slip away so easily.

"All we know is 'at she called herself 'Gray'," Haruka affirmed. "That's… that's really all we know about 'er." She looked to her friends to find them all wearing the same befuddled expression she was sure was on her own face. They had all fought with this woman—entrusted their lives to her—and not one of them knew anything at all about her. Where was she from? How old is she? Just whose friend was she? Was Gray even her real name?

"Anyone else have a strange, sinking feeling?" Jack asked as he leaned on Eimi a bit.

A couple of beams of light swept through the trees, prompting the young spirit hunters to abandon the situation and flee as two uniformed policemen came searching. By the time they entered the clearing, all they found was Midori holding up her badge. "About time some backup got here," she greeted them before turning her gaze to the uprooted trees, downed branches, and upheaved soil. "Though something tells me you wouldn't have made a difference."

* * *

><p><em>Click.<em>

_Scree… Kachunk._

The sound of the door opening and closing stirred Yomi from a fitful slumber. She lazily opened her eyes to find not a nurse, but a detective standing by the window. Had she not been in such pain, she would have shot up and confronted Midori. In her current state, though, it was all she could do just to push herself up into a sitting position with the arm that wasn't in a cast. "Y-you…"

Midori pulled her eyes over to the brunette as she set a half-finished Styrofoam cup of coffee on the windowsill. "You're awake after all. Good," Midori greeted with a small smile.

"Wh-what do you want?" Yomi said as confrontationally as she could muster.

"All I want is the truth," the detective claimed as she stared Yomi down. "That's all I've wanted all along." She sighed as she admitted to herself that her own bullheadedness had probably been a major factor in obscuring the truth up to this point. "Before I wouldn't listen to your story of ghosts and goblins… until a little while ago I didn't believe in them. But now…" Shaking her head, she sighed again, "All I want to know is what happened. Why all of those people died."

Yomi just stared back at the woman a minute before lying back down. She rubbed her eyes as she briefly wished that she hadn't left her glasses behind. With a sigh, she decided to give the detective a chance. "You aren't going to arrest…" Yomi trailed off as she was about to say "Tomo," but she couldn't bring herself to finish the question. Honestly, she didn't know if her best friend was alive or dead. Everyone at the hospital refused to tell her anything. That's when it struck her. Midori would surely know! "Tomo! Do you know if she's okay?! Please, they won't tell me anything! I need to know!"

Midori couldn't stop the corner of her mouth from rising just a bit at those words. "You need to know," she paraphrased. "Did you know that's why I do this macabre job? Sure, the family is always… relieved to see justice for their lost loved ones, but the thing that brings them comfort—the thing they need most—is know what really happened and why. They need to know the truth and that is why I seek it." Seeing a pleading look on Yomi's face, Midori felt a pang of guilt for not directly answering the ailing teen. "Last I heard your friend was in surgery. If anything had happened they would inform me, so she is likely to be still among the living. However, the doctor did tell me that he wasn't optimistic about her. He gave her a thirty percent chance to make it through the night."

The revelation hit Yomi like a fully-loaded bus. While she was relieved that Tomo was still alive, she was devastated to learn that Tomo might not live to see tomorrow. After many seconds of completely stunned silence, tears rolled down Yomi's cheeks. "It's my fault," she said in a barely audible whisper. "It's all my fault!" This time, her words were loud enough to be heard clearly as the brunette began to sob. The crying only lasted a few lingering seconds before she was able to somewhat compose herself. Nothing can keep a person from crying quite like several cracked and bruised ribs. She sniffed as she tried to swipe at her tears only to find a handkerchief in her grasp as she reached for her face. After wiping her face and blowing her nose, Yomi tried to send the detective an accusatory glare, but all she could muster was a befuddled expression, "Why are you being so nice?"

"I told you: I would rather find the truth than justice. Still, to do that I have to keep as much pressure on suspects as I can. I was hard on you and your friends because I knew you were integral to this whole mess. I mistakenly thought you to be some sort of accomplice or criminal. I'm convinced now that you are just as much a victim as everyone else," she explained as she retrieved a nearby chair and her coffee before sitting next to Yomi. "Don't get me wrong—I will still arrest you or any of your friends if you have done anything egregiously criminal, but for now all I want is the truth. The entire truth."

Yomi looked to the handkerchief a moment before handing it back to the detective. "It all started when we found the secret clubroom in the library…"

* * *

><p>"Is this the room?"<p>

"Do we knock?"

"Ah don't know, but Ah think it's tha right one."

"Nuisance," Reiji muttered as he flung the door open to find Midori leaning on the windowsill while chatting with a bedridden Yomi.

"Uh-um, excuse us for intrud—"

"Hey! Tha nurse at tha desk said 'at we need tah come in here an' talk tah y'all," Haruka cut Eimi off.

"Thanks, by the way," Jack appreciated with a nod as he locked eyes with the detective. "For letting us go earlier. We're here to fulfill our end of the bargain."

Midori nodded at Yomi in turn. "She already told me most of the story," the detective explained. "I've got a lot of questions, still."

Instead of diving right into the matter at hand, Eimi derailed the conversation by heading to Yomi's bedside. "I'm glad you're okay… well, uh, you know," she fumbled the greeting as she realized that Yomi was far from "okay." "Is Tomo…? I mean…"

"Still alive, I would presume," Midori answered in Yomi's stead. "They are supposed to inform me if anything happens to my 'witness.' More to the point, where is the last of you? The fortune-teller."

The group looked to each other before sharing a collective shake of their heads, Reiji aside. "We all ain't got ah clue where she went tah, but she couldn't ah gone too far. She was awful fond ah this stuff she gave us. Ah don't think she'd leave without it," Haruka explained as she held out the blue gem attached to her neck for emphasis.

"The witch has agreed to cut her losses and run," a feminine voice echoed throughout the room as a sleek, black cat appeared on the windowsill behind Midori. "I will cease her retreat should the injured girl stay on this side of the abyss."

The detective stumbled away from the window as she spun around, "Wh-what?" She had heard all about the monster from Yomi, but to actually see the real thing up close was amazing. Terrifying and amazing.

"She owed me a debt," Rin explained as she turned her head over her shoulder. As she brought it back around she inexplicably held a blue gem in her jaws. "The debt was paid with ten tears." Gingerly setting the stone on the sill, she hopped down before jumping up onto the bed and curling up into a ball on a vacant spot. "I am exhausted, but I shall listen."

"What is this?" Midori asked as she picked up the angel's tear.

"Gray called them angel's tears," Jack explained. "I don't know if that's just what the gem is called or if it's from an actual angel. It prevents its wearer from becoming possessed. It's a good thing that evil spirit didn't find you. We'd have had one hell of a time exorcising you with that gun and all."

"Is it… for me?" Midori wondered as she marveled at the gem's glow.

"It is for the human that was possessed," Rin denied. "If she lives."

"I-it's for Tomo?" Yomi asked as she made sure to give the monster that had possessed her plenty of room. She was still angry about how mercilessly she had beaten Tomo, but right now fear trumped anger. After all, the hospital had removed her angel's tear along with the rest of her possessions. "Does that mean that Tomo is going to make it?"

"I know not what the future holds," Rin replied.

Haruka crossed her arms over her chest as she steered the conversation back on track, "So, what? That Gray woman jus' bolts an' that's that?"

"She will not abjure her obligations. I shall see to that," Rin claimed, unmoving from her cozy spot.

"Okay, so I take it that I'm not going to find out more about this 'Gray'," Midori surmised. "So what can you tell me about this 'evil spirit'?"

"What about it?" Haruka asked.

"What was it? Where did it come from? What did it have to do with that corpse in the closet?"

The group looked to each other before Haruka spoke up. "We talked tah Gray about that stuff fer ah while. She an' Reiji had a pretty good theory," she claimed before giving the reigns to Reiji.

"It was a powerful, ethereal spirit that had become trapped between our dimension and the world in which spirits such as that insufferable bakeneko dwell. It was undoubtedly sealed there purposefully," Reiji recounted. "We theorize that it was allowed into our world by the boy's spirit."

"Boy's spirit?" Midori repeated Reiji's words.

Jack nodded, "The corpse that was in the closet, it belonged to some guy. Probably someone that was murdered."

"Those spirit wards that were on tha door were no joke, too," Haruka added. "It kept that spirit in, so it must've also trapped in tha poor boy's soul."

"It is possible that in a desperate attempt to reach the other side, the boy's soul somehow stumbled upon that twisted spirit's prison," Reiji started again as he looked to Midori. "You said it yourself: some of the first to perish were those whose names were in the club book. The same individuals that likely caused the boy's demise and sealed his soul."

Midori felt a bitterness as she grit her teeth. "He made a pact with it," she deduced the rest of the story.

Jack gave another nod. "It got out and the boy got his revenge from beyond the grave."

"Wait," Yomi interrupted. "There's no way Kurosawa-sensei killed anyone," she defended her dearly-departed teacher. "She couldn't."

"We ain't sayin' 'at she did, but she was at least party tah shoving tha boy in tha closet an' puttin' those wards on tha door," Haruka explained.

"Okay," Midori committed the spirit's suspected origins to memory. "And this spirit not only possessed the Takino girl, but was also the giant, black, slimy, bug-monster, thing? And that big flesh monster?" she pressed.

Jack motioned over to Yomi. "I'm sure she told you about the spirit needing a host, right?" he asked. Midori nodded in response, urging him to continue. "Well, it was trying to make a more permanent solution that just occupying a single person. It cannibalized countless people's bodies to forge a vessel of its own design while growing stronger by devouring their souls. I hate to tell you this, but the corpses you found were the lucky ones."

"Tha flesh was always at tha core ah the ichor monster yah saw. Tha ichor was ah physical manifestation ah tha spirit. It was an impressive display ah its power," Haruka revealed. "Ah'm sure yah saw tha light we used tah purify it. We were hopin' that'd kill it."

"It didn't, obviously," Jack lamented. "That flesh golem might not have been complete, but it still proved one hell of a citadel for the spirit to barricade itself in. If it wasn't for the bakeneko, we'd have been screwed. Thanks, by the way," he said turning to the still-listening monster, "though you could have helped a little sooner."

"W-wait," Midori stammered as she looked to the curled-up cat. "That flesh monster was… the corpses it-it collected?"

"Yes," Haruka solemnly affirmed.

"The bakeneko… I saw it… it _ate_ it," the detective realized as she covered her mouth with one hand and put the other on the grip of her pistol.

Rin peeked an eye to find everyone staring at her. "How else would you have me destroy such an abomination? It was not an enjoyable task. You humans' flesh is tough, putrid, and sour."

Midori suddenly felt a lot less safe being in the same room as that monster. "I-I guess my next question is for you, Miss Bakeneko. Why? Why would you help them? You even helped them evade my interrogations. Wait, are you the reason the paramedics didn't notice anything?"

The monster chuckled. "Such a simple illusion is… how do you humans say? Child's play."

"But then why did you let me…?"

"I was unaware of your presence until after I left this human here," Rin revealed. "Such dull senses you creatures have."

Midori stared expectantly at the cute little monster for several seconds before speaking up again. "Um… I don't quite understand."

Rin let out a long, irritated sigh. "How shall I explain this…? An illusion is a lie. If one already knows the truth, even the most intricate lie is transparent."

Midori shook her head a bit as she dismissed it. She understood the gist of what the bakeneko was saying, but she was far from actually understanding. "So, why have you been helping these kids? You don't seem all that fond of us humans."

"You humans are a very interesting thing to watch," Rin honestly claimed. "But, do not mistake my aid for altruism. I helped because that child wanted me to."

"What child?" Midori kept on despite her creeping fear of the cat-monster.

Rin suddenly stirred, causing Midori to reach for her gun as she took a couple of steps back. "It shall be easier to rest in my own world," she dismissed herself as she stood and jumped off the bed. Before her paws touched the floor, she vanished from reality.

Midori sighed as she moved her hand away from her weapon. "That thing terrifies me," she admitted aloud.

"I wouldn't worry about it. That bakeneko is really patient, or maybe it just doesn't care about the idle goings on of us mere humans," Jack dismissed as he thrust a thumb in Reiji's direction. "This 'genius' pretty much taunted it and Yomi here is the only one that put him in his place."

Reiji's hand unconsciously moved to his throat as Midori shook off her fear. "Is there anythin' else y'all needed from us?" Haruka inquired.

"No, you can go," Midori spitefully dismissed the group. "I'll call you if I think of anything else."

"There is still something plaguing you, isn't there?" Eimi asked as Reiji walked out.

Midori shook her head. "I don't know what I was hoping to learn. I'm still stuck essentially empty-handed. No one will believe this crazy story. I don't think I believe it," she muttered with a sigh. "What am I supposed to tell all those people mourning? The friends and families? Those praying that their loved ones will come home?"

"I know things must seem very bleak right now," Eimi did her best to gently comfort not only the detective, but also the ailing girl in the hospital bed. "I can't find a single reason to justify why all of this pain and suffering happened, but I believe that there is a reason. Even if we can't see it right now…even if we never see it. There has to be a reason and we have to trust His judgment in letting all of this happen."

"I wish I had that kind of faith," Midori lamented. "I've seen too many senseless deaths, too many suffering people to believe that."

Eimi let out a whimper as she struggled to find words that could comfort the detective. She was about to speak up when a firm hand landed on her shoulder. The Catholic girl looked up to find Jack sending her faintest of sympathetic gazes. "Let it go, Eimi," he urged. "There isn't anything left for us to do here. Let's go home."

Haruka sighed. "Ah was really hopin' fer ah shoppin' trip after all's said an' done, but we already said we weren't takin' y'all's money," she complained. The girl with a thick accent then tugged at the gem dangling from her neck. "At least it weren't all fer naught."

As the spirit hunters said their goodbyes and left, Midori retrieved the angel's tear left by the bakeneko from her pocket. She toyed with it in her palm until after the door closed behind the spirit hunters. "I suppose I will leave this with you," she calmly claimed as she set the stone on the brunette's bedside table. Grabbing her coffee, she headed for the door herself. "I'm going to go get an update on your friend."

"Wait!" Yomi halted the detective, instantly regretting doing it so forcefully. She delicately draped her unbroken arm across her aching side. It took her several seconds to compose herself after the shockwave of pain. "What are you going to do?"

Midori gave Yomi a quizzical look as she stood there with the open door's handle in one hand and her nearly-empty coffee cup in the other. She wasn't sure if it was because she was so tired or if it was due to her letting her guard down, but the experienced detective was at a complete loss as to what Yomi was asking about. "I was going to ask the head nurse about her condition. She will probably get Takino's doctor if he isn't busy," she explained exactly what she was going to do.

Yomi would have sighed, but her ribs weren't about to let her get away with that. "No—I mean… Are you going to arrest Tomo? Me?"

"Unless one of you wants to make a formal confession, I'm not about to convince anyone those wounds were made with bare hands, let alone telekinesis," the detective dismissed. Seeing no more questions coming from the brunette, she slipped out the door.

It had been two days. Two _agonizing_ days before Tomo was through with her surgeries, and she still hadn't even woken up yet. Even though she was no longer considered in critical condition, the only visitors being allowed were her parents. Yomi was thankful that Tomo's parents were keeping her in the loop, even if they were critical about Yomi's scant details about just how their daughter got so horribly injured. The news Yomi had received earlier that day, though, was anything but comforting. While Tomo was well clear of the reaper, the damage done was irreparable.

The knife wounds she received from Nyamo went mostly untreated for several days. The scars left behind would be anything but subtle. She would also have a pair of scars from the two times she was stabbed with the alicorn dagger. The purifying dagger "inexplicably" not only created deep puncture wounds, but severe burns as well.

Of course, all of that was nothing compared to what had been done with Yomi's own hands. The crushing blow from the super-powered kick shattered her humerus so badly that they had to operate to remove bone fragments and set what was left of the bone with pins and plates. And the arm wasn't the only thing damaged. The kick broke her ribs and punctured her left lung. As Yomi understood it, that took surgery to fix, too.

By far the worst injury was the one she had inflicted with her own hand. Yomi couldn't even blame Rin for it like the kick. No. She had struck Tomo forcibly and deliberately that time. It was entirely her fault. The massive bleeding aside, the doctors had to remove over a dozen centimeters of her intestines. Her bladder was also damaged, but they were able to salvage it. They warned that she may or may not ever regain full continence. The worst, absolute worst, injury was due to Yomi's hand ripping right through Tomo's uterus. The doctors were forced to remove what was left of it along with one of her ovaries.

_She's sterile now,_ Yomi mentally berated herself for what had to be the millionth time since getting the news. Her own injuries were nothing compared to Tomo's. A broken arm, some cracked ribs, and a concussion were the worst of her injuries. The rest were all just scrapes, bruises, and cuts. Sure, she had some internal bleeding, but it resolved on its own. She didn't even have to undergo any surgery.

Yomi grabbed her glasses and slipped them onto her face before looking to the clock on the wall. It was a little after midnight. In less than twelve hours she would be released from the hospital. There was no way she was about to be carted out of the hospital without getting a chance to at least see Tomo. Her resolve steeled, Yomi dragged herself out of the hospital bed in spite of her body's protests to the movements.

Several brightly lit hallways and one elevator ride later, Yomi finally found her way to what she knew to be Tomo's room. She stood there with her hand on the door's handle for a good two minutes as she gathered her nerve and gave her ribs a much needed break. Slowly, she walked inside as she kept her gaze downcast. Even once the door had closed behind her, she just couldn't bring herself to look over to Tomo. Slowly, she dragged herself over to her best friend's bedside. The first thing other than the floor she was able to set her gaze on was Tomo's sheet-covered torso. _This is all my fault._

After failing to stare a hole through the covers to see her gruesome handiwork, Yomi finally looked over to Tomo's ashen face. Yomi was a little relieved to find no signs of a ventilator. Last she heard Tomo was still breathing through a tube. "I don't suppose you're awake now, too, huh?" Yomi whispered. She wasn't expecting Tomo to stir and answer, or at least that's what she thought. Somehow the lack of a response still made Yomi's heart ache.

With a small sigh she slowly brought up a hand and gingerly cupped Tomo's cheek. "I'm so, so sorry, Tomo," she earnestly apologized as a pair of tears streaked down her cheeks. In spite of her body's protests, Yomi broke down crying as she gingerly hugged the unconscious girl. She muttered incoherent apologies for some time as she continued to hug Tomo.

Only once the physical pain and fatigue started to outweigh the comfort the sleeping girl brought her did Yomi consider letting go. She haltingly climbed to her feet as she willed her tears away. While being next to Tomo exacerbated her guilt, it also brought her a degree of happiness and relief. There for a while she had truly believed that she had lost her oldest and dearest friend. That thought is what drove her to such desperation that she would allow a monster to possess her and then turn around and put Tomo into this condition. Until all this happened, Yomi had never appreciated just how much the endlessly irritating girl meant to her. "I love you," Yomi inaudibly whispered as she delicately traced her fingertips over Tomo's cheek and into her hair.

Yomi closed her eyes and sighed before looking back down to Tomo. "They're throwing me out of here tomorrow," she informed the unconscious girl as if she could actually hear her. "I don't really want to go. I'd rather stay here with you," the brunette spoke softly and deliberately. "Even after I leave I promise I'll come and see you every day just as soon as they let me. I'll be here with you until you're all better—no, even after that. I'll be by your side forever, no matter what." Even though Tomo wasn't awake to hear Yomi's promises, she still meant every word. Nothing in this—or any other—world would keep her from that promise.

Finally tearing her gaze away from Tomo, Yomi looked around the lonely room before allowing her eyes to settle on a clock on the wall. Judging from the time, she'd worn out her welcome. Someone would surely be by on rounds any minute now to check on Tomo. Yomi knew that she should leave before someone found her here. Well, knowing something is one thing while actually doing it is another. Yomi quickly decided that whatever scolding she would receive for being here would be worth whatever extra time she would get to be by Tomo's side.

The next thing Yomi knew, she was staring at Tomo's sleeping face once more. The bespectacled girl was struck by how serene Tomo looked. It was almost as if she wasn't hurt at all. As if she would awaken at any moment and everything would be okay. Yomi nearly smiled at the thought of Tomo jumping up to scare her. Hell, Yomi would probably prefer an angry, ranting Tomo over the comatose girl before her.

_I wonder_, Yomi idly thought as she looked up again to see the room still as vacant as ever. She then leaned over, her face hovering over Tomo's. "I really just want you to wake up," she quietly confessed as she caressed Tomo's cheek with her hand. "Even if you're mad… Even if you never forgive me." Receiving not even the slightest response from Tomo, she leaned in further as she pressed her lips to Tomo's. After a couple of seconds that seemed to last an eternity each, Yomi withdrew and stood again. After watching Tomo's face for even the slightest twitch for a few seconds, Yomi sighed again. "Guess I'm no Prince Charming, huh?"

"No matter, I'm much more patient than that guy anyway," she muttered as she glanced about for a chair. Finding one on the far side of Tomo's bed, she dragged herself over there and sat down. "I can sit here and wait until you wake up on your own," Yomi claimed as she looked over to the clock again. After watching several seconds tick away, she became pensive again. "I never thought that I would miss the sound of your voice…" Sighing once more, she tried to make herself comfortable as she prepared to stay for the long haul, or at least until someone dragged her out of the room kicking and screaming. Fatigue getting the better of her, she found the most comfortable position to be laying her head on an unused portion of Tomo's bed. "Tomo…" she mumbled as her consciousness faded away.

* * *

><p>AN: As of this chapter the story is officially complete! Now, as I've stated before, I do have a second arc planned, but I'm not going to go and start working on it when I have two other stories that need to get finished. At least not without a good push. I mean, if a lot of people want to see it, I would be happy to deliver.


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